A Crafter's Lament
by Skypiratewolf
Summary: With her partner permanently by her side, Natalie the Crafter is off to find her former group to see what they have been up to with out her. However, on her journey, she creates enemies along with new friends, and comes to realize that she and her friends are a part of something none of them could have possibly fathomed.


"Was it you that raped all of those women?"

_Not all of them._

"Where is the other Enderman who raped them?"

_Dead._ I jolted back at that response. Nazik was so blunt about his answers sometimes that it was startling.

"Why is he dead?" I asked him. He chirped a little, the purple particles floating around him dimming as he wrote his response.

_I killed him._ He replied. Another problem I had with his answers was that he didn't explain them right away.

"Why?" I asked, watching him glance from the window to me. It was raining again and I knew he was uncomfortable. His leathery skin already showed small cuts from when the rain started. They looked sore. He turned the page of the pad I had given him and started writing again.

_My curiosity angered him I wanted the women for myself. He did not want me to have them. We fought. I won. I shattered his heart and took what I had earned._ He said. Now, I was even more curious. Nazik was strange. As far as I could tell, he was not at all like the average Enderman. He actually expressed his curiosity very openly and the others didn't seem to understand it, so they were very aggressive toward him. He was only lucky to be blessed with so much strength and intelligence to survive.

"What were you particularly curious about?" I asked, feeling like he was going to eventually going to stop answering my numerous questions. He did seem to get aggravated easily, which wasn't out of the ordinary for his kind.

_I wanted to know what it was like to be inside someone who feared me. I know you do not like it when I speak that way, but it is the truth. Also, Enderwomen are such a rare occurrence that we do not copulate very often. I have never copulated with one of them so I do not know what they would be like. _He replied, shaking out the stress from writing. His honesty was indeed off putting for me. I was sure the feeling of violating a fearing woman was an exhilarating experience for him. Power and control…it was nice to have. I sighed.

"You want to take a break? I'm sure your hand's tired." I said, folding his writing pad closed. He held up a long finger and took the notepad back. He started writing again.

_I want to ask you questions now. Why do you enjoy my company?_ I thought about the question for a little while. I could feel him watching me as I did so. There were many reasons. I liked having him around. I figured I could tell him all of them.

"Well…you intrigue me. You've helped me understand a lot about the nature of Endermen from a first hand view. You've answered a lot of questions I thought never would be answered. You're also an intellectual. No villager or Crafter has ever struck my learning fancy as well as you have. You don't seem off put by my curiosity and questions, and I am very grateful for that."

"It also doesn't hurt that you've been able to pleasure me in so many more ways than anyone else has." I admitted with a burning red expression. He laugh-hissed and seemed to smile. His smile was such an odd thing to me, but it made me happy either way. I smiled back.

_I enjoy your company as well. No Enderman would dare express any sort of curiosity toward learning. The main goal is to survive. I find learning to be a key in surviving. It is, as you say, fun. _He said. The word 'fun' was a little odd to see from him. Endermen didn't have the same vocabulary, which is to be expected, but when he used some of mine, I couldn't tell if he was conforming or trying to help me understand.

_Do you expect me to stay forever? _He asked. I didn't like the way the question was worded. It was like he either wanted to leave or abandon me when I least expected it.

"I can't expect anything from you. You don't belong to me. You're not a pet." I said. It was hard to keep that in mind, sometimes. I couldn't always have what I wanted so I couldn't expect him to stay just cause I wanted him to. He stared at me a little before writing. He seemed to hum as he did so.

_Do you want me to stay forever?_ I held the pad in my hands and started at the question for longer than I should have. He wanted honesty and he deserved nothing less, but I didn't know what answer he wanted. I couldn't answer him. I was too conflicted. I closed the pad and stowed it under my bed.

"I think it's time for bed, Nazik." I said softly. He clearly wasn't pleased. He chirped and grumbled, wanting an answer. I looked into his eyes, his beautiful pools of magenta and purple. He was almost pleading. "Nazik…I…" I turned away, avoiding his eyes. His hand lay against mine, his palm covering my entire hand. He was so warm and soft…

"Do you understand the 'love', Nazik?" I asked turning back to face him. He blinked a couple times, nodding once. I had explained it to him enough times; he should've had a decent definition. "Our relationship is so odd, Nazik. What I feel…I believe…is love for you. I do want you to stay forever, but I don't expect you to. Since you didn't know what love was until I explained it to you, I don't believe you can love me. I don't want to corrupt your nature by making you conform to what I want." I explained, not hiding my sadness from him. I could tell he was thinking about it, and I honestly want him to. The love I felt for him was weird, and how I expected it to work out, I had no idea. I was expecting a wild monster to suddenly become my partner. No sane Crafter would ever try to interact with an Enderman, let along have sex with one. A constant thought I had when we did have sex, though, was that if he pushed even the slight bit too fat, he could skewer me. Would definitely be a 'creative' way to die.

He gently wrapped his fingers around me and sat himself against the wall with me in his lap. He brought the notepad out again and started writing, taking his time and letting me watch his finger scrawl the ink so gracefully across the paper.

_Just because I did not know what love meant does not mean I am incapable of it. Endermen feel respect, obsession, intrigue, and lust. Love sounds like all of those characteristics put together. I do not know if I feel the same way about you as you feel for me, but I do feel a closeness that I do not wish to get rid of. I will stay with you as long as my life permits. I cannot guarantee that I will not hurt you or be everything you want me to be, but I will protect you and do what you ask for as long as you allow me to._ His words pulled so hard at my heartstrings that I felt like my heart was about to explode. He was my partner, my protector, and my lover. He could be more to me than anyone else could be. He wasn't perfect, but he was so damned close.

I turned around in his lap, looking up to his face. He looked down at me with eyes that were speaking on their own. He meant every word that he had written and he was happy where he was right now. Even compared to my six-and-a-half foot self, I still had to lean up to get anywhere near his mouth. I softly put my lips to his, my lips being met with a warm response. He kissed me sweetly for a moment and then, suddenly, his thick tongue pushed between my lips, the tip of his tongue being the size of nearly my whole tongue. I slide mine over his and tasted his sweet saliva. I let my hands rest on his wide chest, still secretly wondering why I didn't feel a heartbeat. He softly grabbed me and held me tight against him. I knew where this was going. I figured I might as well prepare myself.

We explored each other for hours, even escaping the confinement of the house. We ended our rough play under the thick foliage of a large tree. He let me slide from his hand, sliding into the cool grass. The grass was so soft, so welcoming. The rain was still coming down in buckets and I thought I could faintly hear thunder behind us. I turned back to look at my dark monster.

Nazik, his body now as normal as any regular Enderman, awkwardly positioned himself and started to lie down on the grass with me. He looked as refreshed as ever while I felt as though I had been run over by a herd of cows.

"Aren't you tired?" I muttered, resting my head on my arms. He chirped a little and then shrugged. I grinned and let out a big yawn. He raised his hand and softly pet down my head to my legs. I felt myself drifting, but then I felt myself rise from the grass. I looked up slightly to see Nazik taking me deeper into the trees. He lowered me down back to the ground when I realized I was going past the ground. I gasped as he let me go completely and dunked me into a freezing pool. I shivered for a second and looked up. I was going to ask why, but then realized he had been studying. I had always cleaned myself off afterwards. He was helping.

I enjoyed the water as the coldness subsided. The trees blocked us off completely from the rain, shielding Nazik. The pool was crystal clear and there were no animals to be seen. It was perfect for us both. As the thunder rolled in, I stepped out of the water.

"I think it's been long since bedtime, Nazik. May I go home?" I asked, looking up. He nodded and reached to take my hand. As we touched, I appeared in my room. The teleporting thing still left me groggy, making me as though my insides were swimming while my skin tingled.

I dried off with a towel from the bathroom, and as I came out I saw him staring at his palm.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He held out his hand for me to see, showing his fingers. Two of the pads on his fingers looked burned, almost bleeding. "How'd that happen?" I asked, taking his fingers in my hands and gently dabbing them with a dry part of the towel. He pointed at me with his other hand, making me get slightly defensive. I was about to retort with an angry remark, when I realized that he had touched my wet body with that hand, taking me back to my room. I felt bad…

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." I muttered, looking up to his eyes. I was probably more upset than I should've been, considering he got burned by the rain all the time, but I felt like it was completely my fault. Then, I thought of something else about water. "How come you can deal with body fluids but not regular water?" I asked. He grumbled a little as I fished around for his ink well.

_Water is pure. Extrusions are not._ I really did not like that word, and it really made me feel gross. I was 'extruding'. _Go to sleep. You look terrible._ He said. I knew I had to have looked pretty bad if he was commenting on it. I looked out the window to see the sun rising.

"Are you going to leave?" I asked. He grumbled sadly and nodded.

_I would stay, but the villager women visit you. I must go not to be seen. Sleep well._ I took the notebook away from view just in time to be met with Nazik's lips. I was stunned at first, and then I took his face in my hands and kissed back.

"Goodbye, Nazik." I whispered. He slightly licked my lips and smiled. Then, he was gone.

"Natalie! Natalie, wake up this instant!" Someone was banging on the front door, screaming and sounding angrier than I had ever heard anyone. I scrambled up, trying to get dressed as quickly as I could. I answered the door, finding Rea standing with crossed arms and furrowed eyebrows. "We need to talk." She growled. She invited herself in, standing in the middle of the living area for a moment before turning back to me. My heart sank the moment she had even looked directly at me. Her face said everything. She knew everything. She had to of. There was no other reason she could've been so angry.

"What's wrong?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my rib cage. She growled and jolted forward a step.

"Did you really save us? Really? Or did you just take advantage of the village's demise and gain a play thing for your sick little game? Is that it, Natalie?! It never left! It's been in this village this whole time!" She screamed. She did know. I understood why she was angry, but I had to make her see that I wasn't some freak. I tried to quiet her a little, just so the other villagers didn't come to see what the commotion was.

"Please, Rea, you have to understand I didn't mean for this to happen. My original intention was to lure him to this house so I could dispatch him myself. I overestimated my strength and underestimated his. He overpowered me and did as he pleased with me and then left. When you came to me saying that the moats had worked, I was ecstatic, but I also knew that I hadn't finished the job I had originally set out for. He came back the next night, and in exchange for my body, I got him to communicate. One thing led to another and now he's a companion. He's not as bad as I originally thought and he knows what he did was wrong." I tried to explain it just how it had happened, in the short version, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew I wouldn't believe me if I was listening to this. It was truly unbelievable in the mind of someone who had dealt with a terrible ordeal. Rea seemed to lose her angry expression, and now was saddened.

"It…he caused so much pain and fear in this village. You have to realize how hard it is to believe you. He's a monster, Natalie." She said. I did understand. I always did. I had always known the dangers. I just couldn't explain why it was truly different.

"Please, Rea. He's not a danger to the village anymore, I promise. As a matter of fact, he killed the original Enderman who had started this." Of course I wasn't going to tell her why he did, but that was beside the point. She raised an eyebrow and let out an exasperated sigh.

"But he's still a rapist." She said bluntly.

"Was." I said, trying to correct the mental statement that was in my head, telling me it was still possible.

"What's to stop him from raping us? You can't just change the ways of a violent creature." She said. I grumbled a little. I was seriously getting frustrated with the constant retaliation. Nazik was different. I wasn't going to believe any differently.

"You know what? How about you meet him? He comes here every evening at dusk. I will prove to you that he is different and that he is not a threat to anyone else." I said sharply. She jolted back a little. I could easily see what she was thinking, and again, I didn't blame her. No one was supposed to get close to an Enderman. They had some many things to rip a person apart. She looked, though, like she was willing to give it a chance.

"…fine. I will meet him. Under one condition." She said holding up an index finger.

"Sure, anything." I replied.

"I want to hold your sword for protection."

"Hey, Rea."

"Yeah?"

"How'd you figure out about me and Nazik?" I asked her as I lounged in one of my chairs. She looked up at me with a slightly reluctantly drown as she firmly held onto the pommel of my diamond sword.

"Well…I found out last night," She muttered. I raised an eyebrow, clearly asking for clarification. She let out a loud sigh. "Okay, fine. I heard a scream from outside, in the forest last night."" Right as she said that, I knew where it was going, "I thought the attacks had started again, so I went outside with my stone sword and crept toward the trees. Lo and behold, I see you in his hands and his…appendage buried so far into you, I thought it wasn't possible to take that much. To be honest, I was slightly amazed how well you took him, but I was still horrified and angry that you were hiding that from us, especially me." She explained, shrugging. I was glad she had lightened up a little about the whole situation. She had explained it without yelling or looking at me with the saddest teary eyes I had ever seen. Telling her his name had made it a bit easier. She thought of him as a person now, instead of a monster.

The orange light was starting to pour through the windows, and I knew any second, Nazik would appear. Not a couple seconds more, a clinch in my heart made it hard to breathe and I saw purple specks float before my eyes. Nazik appeared, crouched in the middle of the room so he could fit, facing me. As I was about to greet him, he looked behind him to see Rea. He was suddenly gone again.

"Wait, Nazik! Come back, it's okay. She's not going to hurt you. I promise." I called. I looked to Rea to see her eyes were as big as apples.

"He's so big…" I heard her mutter. A tapping at the window caught my attention. Nazik peered through, still crouched to even look through the top of the window. He looked at me as I walked up, almost looking like he was worried.

"You can come in. She's a friend. She'll stay calm as long as you do." I said. He grumbled a little, almost like a child. I waved him in. "Come on." I insisted. I heard a small hiss before he disappeared from the window. He reappeared on my side of the room, sitting against the wall. He looked at Rea with his own conflicting skepticism. "Nazik, this is Rea. She found out about and I'd like to prove to her that you are a changed Enderman with no intentions of going back to raping the lovely women of this village." I explained. He chirped a couple times, understanding but still glaring at the sword in her hands. "She was as skeptical as you are and wanted my sword for a symbol of assurance." I said. He rolled his eyes. He looked around for something, my instinct telling me he needed his ink and paper. I retrieved it for him and let him write.

_She does not like me. I can tell. Also, I do not like that sword. You threatened me many times with it._ He said. It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"I only threatened you twice." I replied. He grumbled. "He says he knows you don't like him." I told Rea. She shrugged.

"Well it's not a lie, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt, for your sake." She responded. I nodded and gave him back his paper.

"Now, apologize to her for all of the trouble you've caused." I said. He growled a little.

_It was not all me. Why do I have to apologize?_ He retorted, grumbling as he handed me the pad.

"I don't care id it wasn't all you," I said, "You still are responsible for half of the damage." He looked extremely frustrated, but he did as he was told. When he was done, he reached over and gave the pad to Rea. I watched her read it, watching her squint.

"He writes in the old, ancient language. I can only read some of it." She said handing the pad to me. I read it aloud, smiling a little.

"'I am sorry for what I did. I understand now that it was wrong to take advantage of kind people that meant no harm to me. I should have shown the same respect, and I truly think it was my own animalistic instincts that made me do what I did. Now that I am clear of mind, I will never do it again. Again, I am sorry.'" She looked over to Nazik, who looked back at her with a softer expression. She put the sword beside her and stood up.

"I can't say I forgive you, yet, but I do believe you're not the wild creature I had originally thought you were. I just hope that you realize that it is not me you're going to have to apologize to if something goes wrong. Natalie is the one who has put her faith in you, and that is more than I'm sure any other person can say." She said taking a few steps closer. He chirped a few times, writing more.

_Natalie knows who I am to her. I do not wish to impress you. You are of no concern to me. I only care what she thinks of me and I am companion only to her. Nothing more._ I read the paper to her. She grinned a little and nodded once.

"Good." She turned to me. "What are you two going to do now?" She asked. I cocked my head.

"What do you mean?"  
>"Well, you can't live like this forever. Also, the village won't accept him as easily as I have, no matter how hard you try and convince them." She said. I understood what she meant, but by that logic, I would have to leave. I'd have to leave the village and explore the world.<p>

"Where am I going to go? I don't know the entire world." I admitted. Rea waved me to follow her, and then looked at Nazik.

"Either you can come to my home or stay here, but I'm sure someone's still awake and will see you on the streets if you go out there." She said walking out the door. I looked back to Nazik to find that he was gone. I was a little shocked that Rea had invited him, but the entire evening hadn't really unfolded like I had expected it to.

We went to Rea's home and walked in. It was exactly how I left it the first day I had come to the village. However, the aura of it had changed, like I knew it inwards and out. I expected to see Nazik sitting and his legs taking up more than half of the floor space, but I looked around and found that there was clearly not enough room for him to sit, not matter how he tried to bend himself. Rea huffed. "I think he knew were I was going." She muttered. I was about to ask what she meant when I saw one of her shelves suddenly leap a little. I could almost see something pushing it up. Rea pointed at the shelf, her eyes saying, 'that's what I meant.' She carefully pushed the shelf off of the trap door, which opened immediately as it was freed. When I looked down into the darkness, I saw one large, purple eye and glowing purple specks floating around. Nazik chirped a little, grinning.

Rea led me down the ladder into the dark, lighting a torch when we hit the bottom. We were in a solid stone cavern, not looking to be man made. It was tell enough that Nazik didn't even have to bend his knees. Rea continued a little way forward and reached into a crevice. A lever flipped and another hall was revealed behind a wall. This one, however, was so short Nazik couldn't fit at all.

"Sorry, Nazik." I said, following Rea. We ended up in a room, torches already lit inside. A single chest sat in the center of the room. It was almost scary how ceremoniously it was set up.

"I felt this here for whenever I wanted to adventuring again, but…" She trailed off, "I never got back to it. It's only a couple of things." She pulled out a map and showed it to me. "I've explored everything except for the center of the low sea. I'm convinced there's an island in the center. There is one place, though, that I'm sure only a Crafter's supposed to go." She said, pointing to the center of the map. "There is a house-like building on the tippy-top of the tallest mountain in our world. When I had companions of my own, we tried to get in and no matter what we tried, we couldn't get in. The house looked to be made of wood and any other normal old materials, but no matter what tool we used, none of it budged. It's special." She said. I was very curious and very excited to be able to find out what she was talking about. A Crafter's building was always exciting, and new things always needed exploring.

She reached back into the chest and pulled out the most beautiful pickaxe I had ever seen. It was made of beautiful diamonds and there was a wondrous gleam to it. "This is the pickaxe I made on my return home. It's never been used and it has the finest enchantment I could get put on it. You can take it. I don't intend on really ever using it, and I know you're no stranger to exploring. I know you'll use it well." She handed it to me with a kind smile. I felt so honored. I had never been given something so preciously crafted. I would never have thought I would be holding a beautiful tool like it even once in my life. I felt I didn't deserve such a great gift, but it was a gift from a true friend.

"This…this is extraordinary, Rea. Are you sure you want to give this to me?" I asked. I was still reluctant to take it.

"Of course. You're already experienced in survival, you just need the tools. Also, precious metals and gems can't be mined out with any old tool. That's why you take the right one. What could be better than a diamond pickaxe?" She said. The emotions and compassion in me almost boiled over. I embraced her quickly, holding tight.

"Rea…you're one of the greatest friends a person could have/" I said. She hugged back, laughing a little.

"I'll always be here for you if you need me, and Nazik, too." She said. I smiled and let her go.

"I'm sure he would be very glad to hear you say that." I said. She nodded and suddenly snapped her fingers.

'Oh! One more thing." She pulled out a small crate, the six slots holding six bottles, but only five of them being whole. "These are potions my companions gave me. They're all heat resistance potions so use them wisely. They should be at maximum potency, which means they'll last for quite some time." She handed the small wooden box to me and I looked them over. Heat resistance was a pain to brew, so I knew how valuable they were.

"Wow. How'd you manage to get this many? I thought the ingredients were nearly impossible to get to brew these?" I said. She shrugged.

"When you have a full team of explorers, nothing's impossible." She said. I nodded in agreement. I used to have friends like she did; explorers and such. I missed them. "We should head back. I'm sure Nazik is getting a little antsy." Rea said, closing the empty chest. I nodded and started back down the hallway. I heard her put out the torches behind me, my path growing dim.

I ended up back in the tall cave, finding Nazik staring up through the trap door. He looked back at me as he heard my steps echo off the walls.

What are you looking at?" I asked. He grumbled and raised his hand a little. He wiggled his fingers and drew his hand down slowly and growled. "Is it raining again?" He nodded. I shook my head and sighed. "Where ever we end up, it has to be somewhere that doesn't rain so much. Even I'm getting tired of it." I replied. He chuckled lightly and gently patted my head. He looked down at me and cocked his head. "What?" He pointed to the secret passage, a single chirp sounding from him.

"I'll explain it later." I said, seeing Rea finally coming out. She picked up a handful of gravel and started filling in the crevice where she had hidden the lever. "What are you going to do now, Rea?" I asked; seeing a slight hint of sadness in her emerald eyes.

"Well…" She started, "I think I'm going to try and gather some supplies to try and travel again. I miss seeing the mountains and seeing the snow. I'm sure if I tried hard enough I could get a wolf companion to come along." She said. She seemed to be cheering herself up the more she thought about it.

"Good. I hope to see you out there." I said. She nodded. I sighed a little.

"I guess I should start packing, huh?" I muttered. Rea nodded again.

"You should be ready to go by dawn. I'll explain to the village the truth and you won't have to deal with their opinionated backlash." She said.

"Thank you. I know the village was proud of me for ridding them of their problem, but they should know the truth. I just don't want them to be disappointed in me. Just make sure they keep the moats." I said.

"I'll make sure to tell them. Be careful, Natalie. I'll miss you." She said softly. I hugged her again.

"I'll miss you, too." I replied. I pulled back and smiled. She waved goodbye. Nazik put his hand against my head and then we were back in my house. I wobbled a little and shuddered. I started taking all of the books from the shelves and put them away in my bag.

It didn't take long to put everything up. I didn't have much. Nazik looked at me and grumbled, fidgeting with his hand. "What are you doing?" I asked. He grabbed his paper.

_I think I have found a way to talk without my paper. I do not know if it will work, though._ He said.

"Well, give it a shot. It would be helpful if you didn't have to write everything all the time." I said sitting in front of him He nodded and held hi hand up, palm facing the floor. The glittering particles around him suddenly shifted toward his hand. They clustered tightly together, almost glowing as brightly as a miniature purple sun, and then they spread out and formed figures. They slowly made themselves into words.

_Can you read this alright?_ They said. I nodded and smiled.

"That's amazing. How did you figure out how to do that?" I asked, watching as more of the particles started to gather. They all shifted again.

_It is not that hard. Using my the forces around me that give me the ability to jump from place to place, I just use and constrict the flow of the teleportation force, and the words form through the specks of light. I just had to concentrate hard enough for them to move where I wanted them._ He said, the words glittering for a moment. I smiled.

"At least now, it's faster to communicate and I don't have to worry about seeing it in the dark." I said. He nodded and chirped a little proudly. I looked up to the clock over the desk and frowned. "There's not much time left 'til dawn. We need to get some rest." I said. He blinked and stared, not seeming to know what to do. Another nagging question hit me just then.

"Nazik, do Endermen sleep?" He glanced to the floor and then to the ceiling. I figured it was a yes or no question. I didn't think he'd have to think about it.

_We are not supposed to. Mother told us that it would lead to the birth of nightmares and haunting visions. If we wished to rest we would stand in pure darkness and feel the cold of the dark. It was brisk and uncomfortable, so we would stay awake. _He explained. I found that utterly strange. The Enderdragon had to have been a strange creature, but she couldn't have been daft. She knew she was keeping her 'children' from imagination and curiosity. She knew what she had been doing.

"She's gone now, though. You can sleep." I said. His mouth screwed up a little, and he looked away.

_We choose not to anyway. We wish to honor her no longer spoken rules._ He said. She had been a tyrant, it seemed. She had scared them.

"Have you ever slept before?" I asked. He looked back.

_Yes._ He answered.

"What was it like?" I asked getting closer to him. He, again, started to think. It was almost alluring to watch him think. The color of his eyes seemed to swim around, like water in a bowl. His mind seemed to be engrossed in the memory of it.

_It was warm, the dream._ He didn't finish his statement completely. He was having a hard time finding the rest of what he wanted to say._ The dream was strange. I walked through sunlight and I could see in the sunlight. I walked over a mountain and touched the clouds. They were soft and cool against my fingers. Animals followed me curiously, but they did not fear me._

_ A sheep stood on a ridge across from me. It was a rather handsome creature with its small head and cloud like body. I watched it out of my own curiosity. Then, it did the strangest thing. _He stopped again, seeming to be confused by his own memory._ It fell. It fell from the ridge to the ground below. It died in a crumpled mass of its former self. I was terrified. Why would something like that just happen? Why would part of the world just spontaneously die?_

_ I walked further on, the image of the dead sheep following me. I reside in the lip of a cave and then delved deep into the mountain, I believed the darkness would help cool my thoughts. It did not._

_ I found the creatures in the darkness. The festering corpse groaned and hissed as it tried to find a living creature to devour. The rattling skeleton patrolled the cave halls with an ancient looking bow and stared at me with no eyes. There was no happiness in the darkness of the cave. It was dark and cold and I did not like it. As I stared at a long drop below me, I was scared awake by Mother. She spoke to me and said she was disappointed. I never slept again._

The dream sank into my head and I almost felt like I had read a tragedy. I figured the dream had spurred his curiosity and it had made him different. I only wondered, now, how long it had been since he had slept.

"Do you believe that was a bad dream or a good dream?" I asked.

_I do not know. I was scared, but I was also excited to see more of the sunlight and what basked in it. That is why I wish to stay with you. You can show me the sunlight. _He said. I looked up at him.

"Does the sun hurt you? Is that why you can't be in it?" I asked.

_It only hurts after many hours. The main problem is that it makes it hard for us to see. We simply avoid it. _He said seemingly slightly saddened.

"Well, I promise I will show you the sunlight." I said smiling. He smiled back, and then looked out the window.

_The sun is rising. Were we not supposed to leave at dawn? _He said. I frowned and nodded.

"Yes, but I'm tired now. I don't want to start this trek tired." I replied, rubbing my eyes. He chuckled a little.

_We can start moving and if you become too tired, I will find us a safe place to sleep. _He said. I grinned and nodded.

"That works for me." I said. Then, we started out the door. The air was still cold and I could still see some silhouettes of monsters on the flatland. I made sure to keep my sword on hand, just in case. Nazik kept a look out for any sort of movement in the grass.

I unrolled Rea's map and noticed something rather peculiar. As I walked I saw a small marker in the map following my every move. This map really was special. I had never had a map as long as I had been in the Overworld. I probably should have figured out how to craft one a long time ago. We were in the woods now and it wouldn't be long before we were in the mountains. Unfortunately, I didn't think I could make it that far as soon as I had wanted.

The sun had lifted completely off of the horizon and the light blue sky shone brightly. It had become my night sky.

"Nazik, I think it's time for some sleep. I don't think I can go much farther on my own." I said leaning against a tree. He slowly picked me up, laying me in his hands. The moment I was parallel to the ground, I was out.

When I woke up, I felt strange. Something inside of me was cold, but I didn't feel physically cold. I tried to recall my dream, but couldn't find a single image to remember anything. I just felt a pang of fear for no reason. Looking around, the fear went away and was replaced with warmth and comfort. I was lying against Nazik, his body soft and warm. We were laying in a humongous tree, we were almost at the top. I looked up to see Nazik and was surprised. He was asleep.

Though, he didn't move barely an inch when he slept, I still found it fascinating to watch him. He looked so at ease and calm. I wondered if he was dreaming, and if he was what he was dreaming about. Then, his eyes opened. It wasn't all of a sudden; it was just like he had blinked. He looked down at me and placed his hand on my hair, petting my head.

_Why were you looking at me?_ He asked. I blushed a little. I realized quickly that I had just been a little awkward and creepy.

"Sorry. I was just surprised that you were sleeping." I answered. He blinked once and nodded.

_As was I. I had another dream._ He said. I bounced a little, excited to hear.

"What was it about this time?" I asked. He, again, seemed confused by his own memories.

_A glowing lake of fire and glittering stones of blue and green. I have seen them before, but never so many. I believe it was telling me that there is a cave beneath us with these stones. _He said. Though, it wasn't a long philosophical dream, I was still intrigued. He had dreamed of diamonds and emeralds. I was always intrigued when it came to shiny stones. Some were valuable currency and the others were invaluable materials.

"Do you think we'd be able to get to them and find them from here?" I asked.

_Yes. It will not be entirely easy and it will be dangerous, but I can help_. He said. I grinned.

"I know, I've gone mining before. The only problem I've ever had mining before is dealing with getting lost." I said.

_If we get lost, I can jump us to any point of the cave or back to the surface without hesitation. I do not get lost easily. _He said. Man…he was just the perfect partner. I had wished for a handy partner before, but no one could be as helpful as an Enderman. No Crafter had the ability to teleport, or at least none that I knew of. _I can also dig if you need me to. We Endermen have a fascination with taking large chunks of terrain and moving them about. It is like rearranging the world according to our personal preference. Out fingers can through any surface, even solid stone._

"You know, I already believed you were perfect the way you were. Now, I believe you're just trying to show off." I said, standing up on one of the tree branches. He hiss-laughed.

_If I were trying to show off, I would try to hold my hand in water and say that the flesh burning off of my hand does not hurt. Showing off would mean doing something not my entire race can do. I am just telling you what I can do._ He retorted. I grinned and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, where is the cave opening so we can head out?" I asked, putting on my armor. Nazik touched my shoulder and then, all of a sudden, we were in complete darkness. I stood for a second and looked up. All I saw were Nazik's glowing eyes. "You could've warned me." I grumbled. He chuckled. He gathered a light, the cave brightening with bright purple radiance.

We walked down a twisting corridor of rock and dirt. I found my share of zombies and skeletons, but my sword got rid of them quickly. Nazik didn't seem bothered by any of the monsters. I actually think they were avoiding him. Either they were intimidated or they believed he wasn't a threat. Occasionally, he would teleport past a pool of water flow or a waterfall itself, leaving me to go through it. I think he found it funny to see me soaked. I was tempted to poke him with a wet finger, but I figured that'd be cruel.

As we descended down a slight decline, I saw the eerie orange light I always tried to avoid. There lava at the bottom, and I was afraid to go down there. Nazik continued, though, so I did, too. He let his light burn out and he stopped at the mouth of the lava fall. I stayed behind him, peering behind his legs. He chirped and pointed down. I looked, seeing that the lava was flowing farther down.

"Where is it going?" I asked. He put his hand back on my shoulder and the scenery changed again. We stood at the bottom of an extremely tall lava fall, a small pool at our feet. I looked all the way up to see the opening we had just been standing on. Then, looking to the left and right of me, I was completely awestruck. We were in the longest, tallest, and widest ravine I had ever seen. Light beamed in from he surface and from below where lava pooled. It was beautiful.

Then, I saw monsters patrolling the ledges and the ravine floor. I cursed to myself and gripped my sword tighter.

"Nazik, can you place torches around the ravine and light it up? I don't want any surprises while we're digging." I said, half growling as I spotted my first opponent. He grumbled and took the supply of torches I had and quickly vanished. I jumped at the skeleton I had spotted and kicked the bow from its hands. The walking set of bones rattled, facing me with an open, toothy mouth. It parried several of my blows before I finally swung my sword to its neck, separating its head from its spine. The bones fell in a heap on the stone floor.

The zombies put up a better fight, but still fell to my sharpened diamonds. My chest armor protected me from their swiping attacks at my heart, but their damned nails caught my arms several times. Blood trickled down my arms as I stood next to the heap of defeated corpses. I felt a tingling in my skin and I immediately feared I had been poisoned. I kneeled at a pool of water, scrubbing the scratches thoroughly. I heard footsteps behind me and felt relief at his return.

"You did that quickly," I said shaking my hands out and started to turn, "Do you have any torches le-." I stopped quickly as I realized it wasn't him. Beady, black eyes glimmered in torch light. The creeper reared its fat head, hissing as it prepared to charge me. I reached for my sword and slipped into the pool, dragging my sword with me. The pool was deeper than I thought, my armor holding me down. I struggled to try and fight against the weight, but I could still see the creeper coming to get me. Then, in a flash of movement, it was gone. I felt my lungs strain, as I finally kicked off the bottom of the pool. I clung to the edge of the pool taking in a huge breath of air, hacking up water for a moment. I clawed my way out, trembling a little. I could feel a tension in my chest, but not all of it was the pain of not breathing. I felt the familiar chest pain of Nazik's teleportation force. I blinked away the water in my eyes and looked across the ground. I saw Nazik standing over something, something fleshy and heaped in a small pile. He looked back at me with a calm and soft expression.

To be honest, I was scared. The heap of flesh was what was left of the creeper that had tried to attack me. Nazik had literally ripped the creature to shreds in a matter of seconds. Looking back into his face, it was as if it had never registered for him. It was nearly impossible for me to imagine that Nazik had done that. When our eyes met, he seemed to pick up on my fear.

_I panicked._ Was all he said. I could see the truth in him; he thought I was in mortal danger. He acted as he had felt appropriate.

"Thank you, Nazik." I muttered softly, as I got up to stand beside him. I looked through the remains of the creeper to find the gunpowder sack, but it was only to hide and subdue the fear in me. The capabilities that Nazik had been only slightly hiding from me were now starting to show through the calm demeanor he had always shown. He was violent, and one day, I was going to see all of that fury and anger unleashed.

I looked up and saw that the entire ravine had been lit from top to bottom, even against the sunlight shining through the surface cracks. He had seemed to use every torch I had handed him, and now not a single monster dared step into the light. It was a wonderful, beautiful sight. I could see glittering down the way against the side of the wall. I was almost too excited to stay on my feet as I rushed over to it.

I ran my fingers over the emerald vein, almost quivering with childish giddiness. Nazik stepped beside me, watching me pull out the pickaxe and strike the first hit into the vein. Emeralds starting falling to the ground, making a delicate _Teenk!_ noise. There was at least a handful on the ground already and I had barely started through the whole vein.

"We're going to have to visit a village just to see what we can get for these." I said joyously. After I didn't hear any sort of response, I looked back. Nazik stood tall, completely alert, and stared out into the ravine. The teleportation particles around him were dim and disappeared much more quickly than usually. My hand slowly gripped my sword handle, feeling my hair raise up on the back of my neck. "What's wrong?" I asked. He moved his hand behind him, the particles gathering.

_There is something in the halls above._ He said, looking higher.

"Should we be worried?" I asked. He slowly turned and looked down to me.

_I do not think so. Whatever it is or was, I do not feel its presence anymore._ He said. I scowled a little and started hacking back at the walls. I couldn't tell if it was fear or a presence, but there was a familiar sensation in my chest. As I collected the emeralds in a pouch, I started moving across the ravine floor. I took coal, iron, and a pocket of redstone. The presence didn't leave and it was starting to hurt. There was only one thing that had ever given me that sensation, and it was Nazik's teleportation force. I knew it wasn't him; he hadn't left my side since he came back from lighting the ravine. I didn't want to think it was another Enderman. I didn't think I had it in me to fight. I was tired and, frankly, still scared of them.

The more resources I collected, the more I realized that the pickaxe was truly amazing. I was getting more out of it than I would have with a normal iron pickaxe. The enchantment seemed to multiply the resource output. It was great, but it was getting hard to carry some things. I knew I didn't need all of the stuff I was getting. I figured my greed was pushing me to keep collecting shiny things. I turned and looked up to the cracks in the surface. Moonbeams shot through to touch the rocks.

"Nazik, I think it's time we retire. I'm tired. How 'bout you?" I asked looking up to him. He looked down at me with a slight hint of humor.

_I am always tired. Where do you want to stay?_ He asked picking me up. I thought about it, thinking of a lovely place.

"Somewhere warm…somewhere comfortable…is that part of my options?" I asked. Our surroundings changed and I opened my eyes to see a small water fall with grassy foliage. I looked up to see the moon coming through a couple holes in the ceiling. The air was fresh and it was warm. He set me down and I started walking about the little room. There were no caves splitting off or really any way monsters could come in. It was exactly what I wanted. I smiled up to him. "Thank you."

I started throwing out what I need: my crafting table, my bed, and a couple of furnaces. I placed all of my resources where the needed to be and started storing stuff in the chest I had. Everything was nice and decent, and nothing felt like it could go wrong.

As I munched a loaf of bread, Nazik chirped at me.

_You lied to me._ He said. I jolted up from my position and almost spit my bread at him. I wasn't a liar. I had never been called a liar. What the hell was he talking about?

"What are you talking about? I've never lied to you." I said. He grinned and sat in a long grassy patch.

_Yes you have. You lied to me the first day we truly interacted._ He replied. The first day we interacted…if I remembered correctly, that was the day we actually spoke to one another. I tried to convince him I wouldn't hurt him. I tried to remember what I'd said exactly. The words wouldn't come to me.

"What did I say?" I asked, sitting on the bed and brushing some dust off of the blankets.

_You had told me that you had never killed anything ever. The way you slaughtered the dark-dwellers told me otherwise. You lied. _He recounted. As I thought about it, I was upset to realize he was right. I had told him I was too weak hearted to kill anything, not even the monsters. He was right. I had lied.

"Well…" I would tell him the truth, even though it was going to sound like I was trying to cover my ass, "I haven't killed anything that hasn't tried to kill me back. I was telling the truth when I said I'd never killed a cow, chicken, pig, or sheep, but I've killed many monsters to protect myself or to get them out of my way." I said. He looked down at me and blinked once.

_Have you ever killed an Enderman?_ He asked.

"No, of course not. Before you, I'd never dreamed of getting close enough to provoke them. You were the only one I ever provoked and here we are talking together." I said. It was the absolute truth and he had to understand that. Endermen were scary. That's all there was to it. "Besides the other Enderman and the creeper, have you killed anything else?" I asked curiously. He looked down, almost looking as though he were ashamed. He grumbled a bit. I still found it utterly fascinating how expressive he was. I didn't want to truly believe that his race was just like Crafters, but they definitely seemed to have similar expression patterns.

_Yes._ He said. I waited for more as he sat against the ground, but said nothing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked softly, realizing that there was something about the way he was feeling that I needed to be careful about. He glanced to me and looked back away. He huffed, the air hissing through his fangs.

_I do not know if I should. I know you are scared of what I do and what I could do. Telling you might frighten you more._ He said, rolling a pebble around in his hand. I thought a little, silently wishing I wasn't so easy to read. The morbid curiosity was nagging at me, telling me to find out more about him, but the sane Crafter in me told me not to push the subject. Curiosity was what made my life exciting. I had to find out.

"You can tell me," I said, "Even if it does scare me, I know whatever you could say will not change who you are to me. Whatever you say won't hurt me." I tried to sound as sincere as possible. His purple eyes met mine with a skeptical glare. I could tell he was starting to understand how my emotions were working as well. He also knew I was a thinker. I had the ability to think over my reactions.

_If I tell you, you will try not to think differently? You will give me a chance to explain? _He asked. I raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I have to try? Of course. There's nothing you could say that would change the way I think about you." I said, confused on why he'd say something like that. He hissed.

_You say that now, but that is because you have not heard what I have to say._ He replied. I was concerned now. Was this some deep, dark secret he was going to tell me or what did he truly believe I was afraid of?

"Just tell me, please." I said quietly. He closed his eyes and turned his body to face me. He opened his eyes, the magenta pools almost burning with fire.

_I have killed too many times for me to remember. I have killed and devoured the innocent creatures you have not the heart to hurt and I have slaughtered the creatures of the dark who have threatened me. Endermen feud over territory and possessions so you know I have killed them. But that is not all, _He stopped, seeming to prepare himself. _The night I first attacked you was not the first day I had ever seen you. That is why I did not harm you like I had harmed the others. You intrigued me, so I had to see how you would react, to see if you were like the others. _He said. I stared at him, almost completely void of expression. I didn't know what the last part meant. How had he seen me before? Where had he seen me?

"I don't understand. What does that have to do with what you've killed?" I asked. Then, a horrible pang of fear and realization hit me. It wasn't about what he had killed. It was who.

_You traveled with other Crafters at one time. They were your partners. They ventured away one day without you, presumably trying to find a cave in which to explore. They saw me and assumed I was a threat. They were speaking of the necessity for a 'pearl' as they charged at me. I am sorry, Natalie. I am the reason your friends never came home. _He said avoiding my eyes. I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I couldn't understand why. I didn't know if I was feeling sorrow, anger, confusion, frustration, or simply a combination of all. Or maybe it was the sense of abandonment that I had been holding onto for such a long time. I thought they had simply left me. I would never have thought they were dead. I tried not to sob, but a couple tears slipped. He looked back up to me, seeing my tears.

_Do you hate me? _He asked. I sniffled and wiped my face. Did I hate him? I had been alone for such a long time, but I had accomplished so much without them. It wasn't like Nazik had done it to personal hurt me, or out of hatred for us. I did believe he had done it to protect himself. I thought about my partners, who they had been and how they had acted. They probably didn't think he was strong enough to kill them. They probably had barely thought about it at all. I took in a deep breath. It wasn't his fault…but it wasn't something I would forget.

"No, I don't. But…I can't say I'm not very upset." I answered. He blinked and then held out his hand. I placed my hands in his palm, his fingers softly grasping me. "I know you didn't do it to hurt me. I just…never believed that was why they were gone. I thought they just went somewhere else without me and never bothered to come back. I guess…I'm just glad I have the answers now." I muttered.

_Again, I am sorry. I should have told you sooner, but I did not know if you would trust me any longer. I knew your friends were important to you. _He said. I laughed a little, the laugh being all but happy.

"Important…I left them. I had the village the same time they did. I never went back to go look for them. It would be hard to prove that I truly loved my friends." I said, feeling like I was trying to get his pity. I shook my head, wiped my tears again, and looked back up to him. "Out of curiosity, how many of them attacked you?" I asked.

_Three,_ he answered. I jumped a little. That wasn't all of them. There were still two out there!

"There's two Crafters left! Two of my Crafters could still be alive! I…I have to fine them!" I exclaimed, crying out my thoughts as they appeared. Nazik chirped.

_If they are alive, then you cannot feel bad about not looking for them. They did not look for you either._ He said. He did have a point, but I knew my friends. They were loyal, and we would always be friends when we were together. They weren't too smart, but neither was I.

"If they did leave me, then I will find them and give them a piece of my mind. I've done a lot without them, and they deserve to have that rubbed in their faces. If I know them as well as I think I do, though, they probably got lost. We never did make maps or leave trails for ourselves for us to follow back." I explained. He shook his head.

_You and your other Crafters are strange, _he said, starting to lie beside the bed. I looked at him and watched as he got comfortable.

"Do you want a pillow or something?" I asked, gently touching his arm. He simply shook his head and laid his head on his other arm. I lay my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, enjoy the smell of sweet grass and clean water. The silence quickly turned to black, and I was swimming in a dream.

I jolted up, cold sweat running down my back. A handful of images started replaying in my head as I rubbed my face. They were foggy, and the more I tried to remember them, the more they faded away. One thing was clear about them, though. It had been a true nightmare. Streaks of purple and red faded into my conscience, a horrible shriek rattling through my head. I knew it only had to be one conclusion. I was still scared of Nazik. Something in me kept trying to convince me to run away. I stuffed my face in the pillow for a moment and grumbled lowly. Of course it was stupid to believe that the possibility wasn't there, but Nazik had only once ever shown aggression to me.

Looking over to the bedside, I noticed the grass was empty. I looked around the small room. Nazik was gone. I sat up and started straightening myself up. I was frustrated as I started putting the base camp back in my bag. I didn't know where he was and I didn't like not knowing. Wherever he was, though, I knew he'd come back. He had the kind of timing that if I needed him he would be there.

Climbing to the surface, the warmth of the sun washed over me like a hot bath. It was invigorating and the sunlight touched everything with a beautiful glow. I looked ahead, seeing the sun reflecting off of a large snow bank. Pulling out my map, I found that the snow bank more than likely led to a short snow field and I had to go through it to get to the village. As I investigated for myself, I found that the entirety of the snow was a steep decline down a mountain face, rocky ledges and sheer falls going all the way down. I was now even more frustrated that Nazik was gone. It was like he had left me on a mountain plateau on purpose, to watch me with being small and helpless. Hesitantly, I started down the ledges.

It wasn't that hard once I got used to jumping from ledge to ledge. My one issue was that I kept seeing slick parts on the rocks. I didn't want to slip. No matter how deep a snow pile could be, I didn't want to fall from this height. Slowly, I made it down almost half way, when I noticed the ledges were getting more and more spaced and it was harder to see any handholds. As I tried to jump across a far ledge, I slipped, trying to clamor up and over the surface and inevitably falling off and down. I landed on a fairly thick snow pile, but I still landed hard on my side. Lying still for a few moments, I grimaced as I tried to push myself up. Several of my joints popped and my muscles hurt and throbbed. The breath had been sucked right out of me and it was hard to get it back.

Then, I heard a noise. It was like the normal chirp I heard from Nazik, but this one was more…feminine. It was higher, softer. I looked to my left, finding a cave opening, and also, two magenta eyes staring at me from the darkness. It wasn't Nazik; that much I was sure of. The Enderman stepped out into the light, and my mouth slowly gaped open. It wasn't an Enderman. There was a defined waist and breasts, along with a smaller face and head. This was an Enderwoman.

She stared at me for a few moments more, seeming to wonder what I was, then her stare turned into a glare and she hissed harshly at me. She raised a massive, clawed hand to strike and I quickly grabbed my sword to defend myself. Her hand swiped me across the snow, slamming me into the rocks of the cliff side, but not before my sword sliced deep into her palm. She screamed, shaking her hand out and splashing black blood over the white snow. I shifted myself up, groaning as a couple of the rocks fell from my back. Her eyes met mine again, her teeth bared and her body trembling in anger. I tried to get my armor on before she charged me again, then…she vanished.

I clutched my sword tightly, frantically looking around. I heard her teleporting back and forth, the small _wiiish _echoing off the rocks and trees. I made my next mistake: I turned around to look behind me. Suddenly, a searing pain ripped up my back. I screamed, flying forward and falling back to the ground. I was quickly in her hands, her grip almost crushing me instantly. The iron plates of my armor started bending as she slowly started to crush me. I squirmed, feeling my bones start to strain.

"Nazik!" I cried out, nearly using all of the breath I had left in me. I saw her mouth open, quickly drawing me toward her open maw. I closed my eyes, preparing to be chomped in half.

The Enderwoman suddenly screamed and I fell. I looked up to see her holding her arm, or at least what was left of it. From her wrist down to mid-forearm, shredded flesh and shattered bone hung from the root of her arm, her hand completely useless. An Enderman stood in front of me, standing crouched and strong. He let out the loudest, most terrifying yell I'd ever heard, making me realize that I was being protected. Nazik had come just in time.

I watched as the Enderwoman's hand fell to the ground with a soft thud. She was in dire pain, her expression doing nothing to possibly hide it. She looked to her hand at first and then back to me and Nazik. She looked pained for a moment and then furious in almost a second. She screamed loud, making me jolt back into the snow. Nazik replied with another yell, seeming to warn her. She didn't flinch, and charged at him. She grabbed him with her 'good,' slightly less injured hand and tackled him, baring her fangs to sink them into his flesh. He evaded, disappearing and then reappearing behind her. He sank his teeth into her shoulder and started to tear her apart, his claws ripping into her abdomen. I watched in horror as blood spattered everywhere and her angry screams echoed off the rocks and cold trees. She escaped his grasp several times, fighting back with as much ferocity as she could muster as she started to bleed out. In a matter of minutes, one of her eyes was missing, her organs were almost spilling to the ground, and her body fell to the ground on its own.

Nazik stood over her, breathing heavily. He had deep gashes in his chest and arms, but none of it seemed to faze him. All he seemed to notice was that she was one her last moments of life, and he wanted to be the one give the finishing blow. He harshly kicked her onto her back and slammed a knee into her gut. She barely had enough life left to try and stop him as he went for the center of her chest. His thin fingers slid into her flesh, sliding almost sickeningly easy. He clutched what I thought was a heart, her hand weakly grabbing his wrist as he tightened his grip. He ignored her touch and ripped the heart from her chest, the glow in her eyes disappearing.

In his hands rested a magnificent item. It was a perfect orb and glowed a dull green. I was entranced by its beauty and slowly moved forward toward it. Nazik's grasp suddenly tensed.

"Nazik, wait!" I called. He jolted in surprise at my voice, seeming to have forgotten I was there. The orb now had fractures, but did not fall apart. I looked to the orb. "What is that?" I asked, wincing at the pain in my back. He hesitated for a moment, and then handed me the orb. I felt a life-like warmth in my hands. It felt like I was holding a living creature's core.

_This is what our heart is. It is where out knowledge, our thoughts, and our entire memory is stored. Our hearts are no where like any other living creatures. If it is shattered and destroyed, we cannot be reborn. _He explained. I traced the cracks of the orb, and then looked back to him.

"Reborn?" I asked.

_Endermen and women live on through reincarnation. If the heart survives when the body does not, it is taken back to our world where we are reborn into a new and different body. If it is destroyed, our entire life is lost and another new Enderman is born. Some are never reborn. Their hearts are buried or just disappear from our sights here in the Overworld._ He explained. I thought about the information, pieces started to fall into memories with missing pieces.

"Pearls." I muttered. Nazik chirped and cocked his head at me. "Enderpearls. This was what my friends were after. They wanted your heart." I said, showing him the orb. Nazik looked confused and slightly frustrated.

_What would they want with our hearts? What purpose would they serve?_ He asked.

"We had been searching for ways into the two known dimensions The Nether was simple and we knew that many Crafters and villagers had already traveled there. The other dimension, though, it is said only one Crafter ever made it there, and he was the one that killed your mother. We wanted to be the only others to step foot in The End. The pearls were apparently part of the way in." I said, remembering pieces of our old research. Nazik took the pearl in his hand and looked it over, seeming to see it differently.

_I know what you speak of. There is a portal that is hidden in a stronghold here; built by the Ancients. _Nazik said, handing the pearl back.

"Really? Where is it?" I asked curiously. He looked down, seeming to contemplate telling me. He was internally fighting something. His eyes finally met mine.

_I cannot tell you._ He said. I raised an eyebrow, stowing the orb in my bag.

"Why not? Is it just because I'm a Crafter?" I asked, getting more frustrated.

_I am sorry. I am not supposed to tell you partially because Mother told us not to. To be truthful, I do not know where it is. I have never had to see it or use it. I can travel freely between worlds. The only way I may know where it is, is if I feel its call. An Ender object has a certain call to its kin. _ He explained, softly grumbling. I grumbled myself and rubbed my forehead.

"Fine…fine, okay. We already have a couple goals in mine. We need to get to the village to see if any of my friends are still there." I said. Nazik softly chirped, his particles glowing a little brighter.

_You need help._ He said. I was about to ask why when he reached back and touched my back. I cringed and hissed through my teeth, pulling away from his hand. The cold had numbed my wound, but it was still very much open. I pushed back tears of pain and looked back to him. My blood didn't show on his fingers, but he stared at it like he could see it. _She hurt you…quite deeply._ He said.

"I'm okay. I just need to be bandaged up and I'll be good as new." I said, looking through the trees to try and find the village. His touch against the wound had started to sting, the wound trying to heal. I groaned and leaned against a tree as it became intense.

_Yes, but you have to be able to get to a bandage to be made better. I will get you to a village, but I will have to hide for the night. Also, I must go retrieve what I left behind._ He said, taking me in his hands.

"Where you did you go this morning?" I asked, finally having the chance. He grinned a little and we teleported, appearing behind a village building. He sat me on the ground and looked at me.

_I was mining. _He said. I raised an eyebrow, but was only met with the response of a soft pet of my head._ Please, be safe. I will return as soon as I can. Good luck to you on getting information about your friends._ He said, running a warm finger under my chin. I gently put my hand on his hand and smiled through the pain.

"Goodnight, Nazik." I said, squeezing his hand. He squeezed back and then my hand was empty. I felt my back go through a spasm, making me fall against the cobblestone wall. Slowly, I moved to the front door.

Knocking, it took a moment before a villager answered the door. He was slightly shorter than me, his emerald eyes slanted and critical.

"Hello, sir. May I please get some help? There wouldn't happen to be a healer in this village, would there?" I asked, trying to stay standing. He could tell I was in pain, but he didn't see – or feel – the blood start dripping down the back of my legs.

"Yes there is. Come with me." He said, motioning out into the village. I followed him, looking around to the other buildings. They looked exact to any other village, but the layout seemed familiar. I believed I had been here before, but didn't recognize the people or feel the air of familiarity. The villager stepped up to a big home, rapping on the door violently.

"Kuje! Kuje! You're needed!" He yelled, still bearing on the door. The door opened abruptly, an angry man swinging the door wide open and snarling at the noise maker.

"What in blazes do you want, Atzu!?" He exclaimed. His anger suddenly cooled as he looked at me. My intellectual curiosity rose at the sight of this man. He was far from the average villager. His facial features – his nose and eyes – were small. He had a full head of hair, soft brown hair crowning his head. His robe hung on him, but I could tell he was physically strong. Atzu suddenly stepped back in front of me.

"She requested you. I brought her. Deal with her." He said bluntly, leaving me with the strange villager. I started to stammer, completely off put by the sudden 'thrust' I had received into talking to this Kuje. The pain in my back reminded me that I had to be quick.

"H-hello. If it wouldn't be too much to ask, may I please get this taken care of?" I asked, turning around and revealing my back. It must have been worse than I thought because he rushed down the stairs and started helping me in the house.

"Geez, what the heck happened to you? Are you feeling okay? This looks recent." He started spewing random statements to me as he offered me a stool to sit on. As my back bent, I winced. I put my bag down and looked up to see him rushing around the house for things.

"It is recent. I was attacked." I replied. He sat a collection of medical things on a table beside me and came back to look at me.

"Well I can see that," He said, taking a needle and thick wiry thread in hand, "What attacked you, if I might ask?" He asked, threading the needle. I watched in slight horror, knowing that needle was going to hurt. He set the needle down and picked up a rag and bowl of water.

"A-an Enderwoman." I said quietly. He looked at me curiously. He didn't seem to think I was crazy. He just looked mildly surprised.

"An Enderwoman? I didn't know those existed. Strange…" He muttered looking outside for a moment and then back to me. "I know this will sound really weird, but can you please take your shirt off? I need to clean your wound. I promise I want look anywhere other than your back." He started babbling embarrassingly. I grinned a little through the pain, and did as he asked. He was a quirky guy. It was almost cute.

As he cleaned the wound and started sewing me back together, I tried to fight the pain enough not to whimper or cry. It hurt a lot, but not as much as what caused the wound. I didn't want to end up crying in front of him. I had a little bit of pride left.

A quick snap of the thread told me he was done. I felt the tension of the stitches and it really was a bigger wound than thought, and there was more than one. Two gashes had been running up my back and were now tightly stitched back together. He wrapped gauze around my entire torso, saying I didn't need the stitches to split and I didn't need anything to touch them. I felt so much better as he tucked the end of the gauze into a fold. I was so thankful to him. I was about to thank him when his expression made me stop. He looked conflicted, glancing from me to the floor back and forth.

"You…" He took another second, "You wouldn't happen to be Natalie, would you?" He asked quietly. I looked at him, blinking a few times.

"Y-yes. How do you know my name?" I asked. He folded his hands back into his robe sleeves.

"Well…a couple ways. There was another Crafter here at one time who talked about you. He said he was looking for you after he had lost someone named Sammy." He said. My heart leapt at Sammy's name. It made me believe she was one of the one's left.

"What was the name of the other Crafter?" I asked.

"Thomas." He answered. It made me realize that the friends that had been killed by Nazik were the ones that dealt with more adventurous activities and didn't think things through very much. Rodrick, Johnny, and Alicia were the ones that often did things just to see what would happen. I remembered once that we had found a massive cave that had huge open spaces deep within. They had found a waterfall that went deep into the earth, way farther than we could see. They decided to jump in, even after we had advised them not to, and rode it all the way down. What they had yet to realize was that the waterfall ended in the center of a lava lake. The only thing that saved them was Thomas's quick thinking and reflexes; he blocked off the waterfall so they fell against the obsidian. I had loved my friends dearly but they had earned a gruesome death, I had to admit.

"Do you know where Thomas is?" I asked. Kuje shook his head.

"Specifically, no. He said he was going to check the sea village against the northern edge, but he could be gone by now." He said. I nodded, figuring that would be the next place to look. Kuje looked a little shifty for a moment and then let his mouth stay open a few seconds before he spoke again. "Where's Nazik?" I jolted at the question. Only one other person knew about Nazik. Who was this guy? What did else did he know?

"How do you know about him?" I asked lowly, almost growling. He held his hands up, holding them in front of him like he was innocent.

"I'm sorry. Don't freak out. I was just curious. You might think I'm crazy if I told you how I know." He muttered, glancing out the window.

"Try me." I replied harshly. He turned back to face me, his face full of chagrin. He sighed.

"Okay…I have weird random visions. Most of them are visions of the future and some are of the present. I can't control them. Before you came here, I saw you and Nazik in the little cove you guys had slept in last night. You were talking about the loss of your friends and the quest to find the remaining ones. I knew you were coming here, but I didn't think you'd be injured when you got here." He explained. I did think he was crazy, but no one could have been around to see us in that tiny cove. I wanted to think there was something supernatural about him, and I also wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was a nice person.

"Alright…I guess I believe you." I said. I shakily stood up and looked out the window. I wanted Nazik here. Even if Kuje didn't seem like a true threat to me, Nazik always made me feel absolutely safe. I knew he could protect me. Kuje…he said he saw things. He could use those visions against me…if he actually had them. "Is there any sort of theme to these visions?" I asked. He thought for a second, rubbing the stubble against his cheek.

"Sort of? Usually it deals with people. I've talked to or will talk to. I'm sure I'll have another few about you." He said.

I grumbled a little. Of course he was.

"Is there a place I can stay tonight? I just need to stay once and I'll be gone." I said. Kuje shrugged, showing a slight frown.

"There's no empty houses, but I can let you stay here for the night if you'd like. I'd understand if you didn't want to. I know you're suspicious of me." He said, searching his cabinets and pulling out a bed roll for me. I didn't like that he knew specifically how I felt. I didn't like being read so easily.

"I'll stay, I guess. Being inside anywhere is safer than being out there. I'll just take a walk first, just to get my bearings around this place." I said, neatly tucking my things under the table beside me. "I'd like you to come with me so I can talk to you; so I can learn to trust you." He nodded and set the bed roll next to my things.

"I understand. Not many people trust me so it doesn't really hurt my feelings. Can I ask you something, though?" He said, following me out the door.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to Nazik? This is probably the only time in any villager's life time that I'd be able to speak with an Enderman. I just want to know what he's like." He said, an excited grin on his face. I felt bad for Nazik, honestly. He was odd, but in a way that people thought it was safe to get close to him. I sighed and nodded.

"He might be okay with that. He reluctantly met my lady villager friend. I don't know how he'll do with you." I replied, taking my sword and putting it against my back. He eagerly followed up the small hill.

"Lady villager…interesting. You're full of all kinds of interesting information." He said with a chuckle. I grinned a little, taking in a deep breath and wincing as my wound throbbed. I looked over the sky, the clouds looking warm with the amber sunset. Kuje stood beside me, looking with me.

"You mind if I ask _you_ a question?" I asked, looking back at him. He seemed to be uneasy in the setting light. He quickly looked to me.

"Shoot."  
>"Why do you look so different compared to the villagers in your village? I'm sorry if that's so blunt, but I'm kinda curious. You kinda remind me of the lady villagers." I said. He nodded and sighed, grinning as he turned back to the sky.<p>

"I know what you mean, and you don't have to feel bad for just saying it our right. Truth is, I don't really know why I look like this. I was found in the women's village with no memory of how I got there. Rumor is that I'm a Crafter." He said. I jolted a little and looked him over again. The only likeness to a villager he had was his emerald eyes and the robe. Otherwise, he could have been a Crafter due to his unique appearance.

"If you're a Crafter, then why do you live here? You could be exploring the world, fighting monsters, building a utopia," I said, opening my arms to the clouds. He simply shook his head.

"It just wasn't for me." He muttered, "I didn't want to fight or scavenge for monetary materials. I just wanted to live a simple life. The villagers have given me that and I'm fairly happy with it." He explained. I thought about it and realized…that did seem like a really nice life. There were only small dangers and you didn't have to move from place to place. It was nice for some, but not for me. Spontaneity was my life and I was too eager to learn more about the world to stay in one place. There was one thing that I'm sure he'd be a-like to a villager.

"Even though you say you're not one to scavenge for monetary items, you still adore emeralds, right?" I asked with a half grin. He chuckled a little and nodded.

"Yes I do. I have only a couple stowed away. Have never really found that many. I wish I had more so I could travel to the other villages and trade with the merchants." He said. A quick thought came to mind, but I tried to dismiss it. I thought of how he could come with us to discover the Crafter building and maybe his visions could help us find Thomas and Sammy. The usefulness of his companionship kept pestering me. Another partner could be useful, but I didn't want to add another person to the mix if I wanted Nazik to myself. It would be a third wheel situation. As we started walking along the hill's ridge, the thought of his companionship persisted.

We stopped and stared into the forest in the low valley-like area. I could see the monsters slowly walking through the woods with a complete lack of destination. I looked at Kuje and sighed.

"Would you give your villager life up at any point?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"It might be nice, maybe just once. Why do you ask?" He replied. I played the idea through one more time and decided it was time to ask.

"While looking for my friends, I've found it easier going along with other people. I could only figure that adding you to the party would help." I said, trying to read his expression. He looked away from me for a moment, watching as the sun completely disappeared and the moonlight brightened where we stood. He thought about it for quite some time.

"I would like to," He finally said, "But, I can't. It's just not for me, I guess. I will tell you my visions before you leave, though. I'm sure you'll be in the visions I have later, considering no one talks to me. I don't want to leave, but I do want to help you." He said. I nodded acceptingly. I was sort of glad to have been rejected, but I was also glad he would tell me any of the visions he had about me.

"Thank you," I said. I looked around for any monsters. When I saw none of them close, I took in a deep breath. "Nazik!" I called loudly. I called once more, hearing my voice echo off the trees. The clinch in my heart told me he was close and I waited just a moment. Then, I turned at the sound of an Enderman's teleporting and a shocked gasp. Nazik stood in front of Kuje, glaring and looming over him. Kuje stared up at him almost stark white and terrified. He mouth trembled as it progressively gaped open wider and wider. Nazik looked to me a grumbled.

_Why do you keep making me meet people?_ He asked, clearly irritated. I giggled a little, glancing back to Kuje.

"Sorry. He knew of your existence before we even got here, apparently. Also, he's the one that stitched me back up and wrapped up my wound. I at least owe him the favor of at least being able to meet you." I explained. I looked to his right hand and found that it wasn't empty. A chest was clutched tightly in his fingers.

_How did he know of me?_ He asked.

"He has visions. He's not sure if he's a Crafter or a villager, but he knows he's special. He believes he'll have future visions of us, so he will tell them to us before we leave again." I said. Kuje hesitantly got close, realizing we were talking about him. Nazik looked down at the man, grumbling a little.

_I see. Do you expect them to help?_ He asked. I shrugged and looked to Kuje.

"They could be helpful. It's worth a listen, at least." I said, Kuje grinning a little. Nazik chirped and dropped the chest beside me.

_I found them. I have no use for them. _He said. I kneeled next to the box and opened it. As I looked inside, I swore I could hear a god like voice blessing me. Diamonds, emeralds, gold, iron…it was all there, organized and shining. I was almost stunned into utter speechlessness.

"Nazik…how long did it take you to find all of this?" I asked, not knowing what else to really say. I could see pride glimmering in his eyes.

_Not long. I simply found the resources that were not stone or the black rock. Do you like them?_ He asked. I closed the chest, smiled wide, and stood up.

"Of course. It's all wonderful. Thank you." I replied. Kuje looked to Nazik and made a 'huh' noise. I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Nazik seemed thoroughly uncomfortable as Kuje looked at him.

"He speaks, so to say, in the ancient written language. I didn't know it still existed." He said and rubbing his stubble again.

"Can you read it?" I asked, feeling a little more eager to have another person who could read it. Kuje nodded.

"Indeed I can. I've always kind of known it, but never saw it written anywhere, except for some extremely old tomes. It's amazing, if you ask me." He said with the same cheeky, curious grin of his. Nazik grumbled a little, looking to the flatlands.

_So I will not have to get Natalie to translate. That is convenient. I will admit, I do not like you, but I do believe you are trustworthy. But, prove to me that your visions are worth our time._ Nazik said, his eyes critically judging the man. I could see the panic in the villager's eyes, but I didn't really know how to defend him. The only reason I suspected his visions were legitimate was because he knew of me and Nazik before we even showed up. I knew only one other person that knew about our partnership.

"I-I don't know how. I-" He suddenly stopped. His eyes seemed to go void, showing that he was staring off into some sort of space, or staring straight through us. Nazik and I both looked at him curiously. He was completely motionless and seemed to be frozen in place. He stood for a moment more, making me a little concerned, and then he relaxed and blinked. I could hear him start to breathe like normal, the wind sounding and starting up as he breathed. Kuje looked to us both as if he were confused on whom we were for a second, and then reality struck him. "Wow! If you could simply summon visions like that, it would be so much easier to deal with. You guys are fortunate." He exclaimed. Nazik stood back up and cocked his head. I could only guess that Kuje had had a vision.

"I saw halls and halls of chiseled bricks, some shattered and some growing. Monsters patrolled the halls as if to protect something. Iron bars and iron doors held some prisoners while others had been long since gone. There was a fountain, the center room brilliantly illuminated. The library…" He paused for a second, smiling wonderfully. "It was magnificent. Hundred and hundreds of books with a grand chandelier to show every title in the two story room."

"Then, I saw something I didn't recognize as normal." He muttered, his smile dropping. I listened intently, so curious and eager to find this seemingly wonderful place. It sounded so interesting, though I had never heard of a place like it. "There was a ring of strange contraptions. The center of each piece was hollowed out into a weird bowl; seeming to gape for a completing piece. Some of the contraptions had their pieces, the piece glaring like an evil eye. The ring floated above a pit of lava, the heat wavering through it. The twelve pieces were made of an unworldly metal." He seemed frustrated by the thought of whatever this was. "To make matters worse, there were weird creatures scuttling about the floors. Vicious looking little bugs…" He muttered. I grumbled a little, crossing my arms. I felt I should've known what he was talking about. There was something I should've seen, but I couldn't. Nazik hissed a little, catching my attention. His eyes were intense, the particles floating around him glowing as intensely as his eyes.

_I know what you describe._ Nazik said. Kuje seemed excited to know, as was I.

"Really? What was it?" He asked eagerly. Nazik seemed to scowl harshly.

_That was the stronghold. I had almost forgotten it completely, and then you mentioned the so-called contraptions. Those were the pieces of the End Portal. They were made by the ancient Crafters. Mother had given us the ability to freely walk through our two dimensions already, but the ancients were jealous. The constructed their own means of entering our world, and with that ancient portal, we were unsafe. We scattered their keys, their Eyes of Ender, where they eventually deteriorated and blew away in the dust of their nearly forgotten legacy. The portal cannot be opened without those keys. _He explained, looking extremely conflicted. I raised an eyebrow, recollecting the book I had read by the Crafter, Steve.

"If there are only a couple of eyes in the portal, how did that Crafter kill your mother?" I asked.

_The way of creating keys was not lost like we had hoped. That Crafter found out how to open it again and we made sure to close it once again, though we knew there was nothing left to defend. _He answered almost sorrowfully and guiltily. Kuje stepped forward to Nazik.

"When you say 'we' do you mean the Enderman collective?" He asked, seeming to be completely oblivious to the distraught expression on Nazik's face. Nazik looked at him, his frustration almost pouring out of his aura. He started explaining most of his idiom while I thought about the portal. Kuje had had a vision about it, but didn't specifically state we were in it. Also, he had no way of knowing when exactly it'd happen. My own frustration started permeating. I knew we were going eventually, but as he had said when we had met, we didn't know under what circumstances.

"Was there anything else to the vision, Kuje?" I asked. He turned away from Nazik, his face twisting a little. He tried to think, scratching his head.

"Erg…a pool of black at the bottom of the portal stairs… I heard weeping. It's like I saw it through someone else's eyes. There was dirt and rock while I looked up and then I broke through to sunlight." He stopped, "That's all I saw." I tried to make sense of it, but nothing came to mind. I looked to Nazik, asking him without saying a word. He softly shrugged. I guessed that 'pool of black' wasn't natural to the stronghold. I sighed and felt my eyelids start to droop.

"We need to get some rest. Maybe tomorrow another vision of yours can help us along." I muttered, looking to Kuje. He nodded and started back toward the village. I leaned down and tried to pick up the chest, trying with almost all of my strength. The chest suddenly lifted, to my surprise. I looked to see Nazik's hand clutching it from below, a sly grin on his face. I smiled at him and let him carry the chest.

_Are you alright, Natalie? _He asked, holding his hand out far enough that I could see it as we walked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not understanding why he asked.

_You seem distracted and worried. Is there a lot on your mind?_ He asked. I figured I did. I had so many goals in mind and I wanted to put a ton of effort into all of them.

"Yes, it seems so. I was so caught up in trying to figure out if Kuje's ability would help us that it distracted me. Now that he saw the stronghold, I'm worried nothing else will get accomplished. I don't know if I'll find Sammy or Thomas. I don't know if I'll find out what's in that building Rea told us about." I stopped to collect my thoughts for a moment, thinking about the stronghold. Why would we be there anyway? "Why would we be going to the End Portal? I knew we'd be going to the stronghold eventually, you know, mostly to see what was there, but would we be actually going to The End?" I asked. Again, he softly shrugged.

_I have been thinking about the last part of his vision; a pool of black and weeping. I do not understand entirely, but I do have an idea. A pool of black could be a puddle of Enderman blood. The crying, however, I have not the slightest clue. I have only seen a Crafter cry._ He said. I placed those pieces into a scenario and felt the worst heart-crippling pain in my heart. I almost fell to my knees. I looked up, seeing the concern in his eyes. The realization of what the vision possibly meant was nearly traumatizing to me.

"Nazik…you don't think…that the blood…could be yours," I said softly, "Do you?" I could see him thinking about it. I could tell he wasn't happy about the hypothesis, but he didn't seem entirely surprised or remotely shocked.

_It is possible._ He simply stated. The fact that he didn't seem to deny or fight the idea hurt a little more.

"But, I don't want to lose you, Nazik. I would never put ourselves in a situation where that would could be an end result." I replied. He took me in his other hand and had me sit in his palm. Slowly, he walked away from the village, up to a higher hill. He sat down against the cool grass and held me close to his body.

_I do not want to leave you either, Natalie. It is just how things could come to be. _He said. His warmth made it easier to try and let go of the idea. We could prove the vision to be wrong. The future could be changed, especially since it hadn't happened and I didn't plan on going to the stronghold any time soon. As Nazik held me, gently rubbing my legs with his fingers, I watched the moon touch the horizon, the sun gently rising behind us. The future wasn't going to scare me as it always had. I just didn't know how my dreams would take these new nightmarish ideas.

"You're sure you saw her in the ocean village?"

"No, I can't be sure, I keep telling you that. I'm just telling you what I saw. She could be there." Kuje said, getting more flustered as I asked him. "I saw Sammy sitting by herself on the rail of an ocean house, fishing. I'm pretty sure it was that village." He explained , having already explained it to me three tines. We stood at the top of the hill we had stood on the night before, staring into the now peaceful trees. The path into the village now led out, the gravel ending a ways into the forest. I rolled out my map, checking the distance from here to the ocean village Kuje had mentioned.

"It won't take us long at all. Just pass through the trees and over a little bit of sand and we'll be there." I rolled it back up and smiled to the man beside me. "Thank you, Kuje." He grinned a little and nodded. Nazik stood below us in the shade of the trees, plucking apples from the leaves and eating them whole. He seemed to be enjoying watching the wild animals go in and out of the trees with not a care in the world. Kuje sidled up closer to me, his smile replaced with grief.

"I'm sorry about the stronghold thing. I put the pieces together as well. I really wish you two the best of luck." He muttered low. I turned to face him, the sadness in my eyes unhidden.

"Do you really think he'll die?" I asked quietly, almost whispering. Kuje shrugged and looked at Nazik.

"Again, I can't be sure. My visions have never been wrong, but some of them I've never had the chance to prove right or wrong." I really don't want this one to be right, though. I see the adoration he has for you and the closeness you both share. I couldn't imagine what it would be like for you to lose him." He answered back. I fought the pain and fear that wanted to flow through me.

"I couldn't either." I whispered. Kuje's hand gently came down on my shoulder, gently shaking me. I turned back to see him with a sincere smile.

"Everything will be okay." He assured me. I felt a smile cross my lips and I nodded. We exchanged goodbyes, Kuje calling down to Nazik, and then we departed. The walk was silent, the air clean, the grass soft, and my head was running at a hundred miles an hour. Something seemed to be clouding my brain…taking me to another place…jumping back and forth…something dark and…otherworldly…

A sudden screech seemed to wake me up, the sunshine beaming down on me. I stood on the edge of a ravine, gravel crumbling down its walls and echoing into the dark chasm. Nazik stood on the other side, holding his hand out over the empty space, as if he were motioning for me to stop. I saw the pleading fear in his eyes as he stared at me on the edge of the drop. Nazik appeared on my side of the ravine, teleporting us across to a safe distance away. He kneeled before me, holding my head gently and looking into my eyes.

_Are you alright? _He asked still peering into my eyes. His deep concern had me truly worried. What had happened to me?

"Yes, I'm fine. What happened?" I asked. He picked me up, not allowing me to walk on my own.

_You disappeared. You were jumping back and forth, like an Enderman. I could hear you, but I could not see you. It took quite some time to track you down and find you. I am glad I found you before you ended up in any serious danger. _ He said, slowly walking. I didn't remember anything, especially not teleporting. It hadn't felt like when Nazik teleported me back and forth. It was like I had been dreaming, like I was sleepwalking. I knew I didn't have the ability to teleport. Something had given it to me for that short moment. Then, I remembered I still had something in my possession; something that could've been the answer.

I rummaged through my bag and brought out the dimly glowing orb that I had been meaning to study. Mist seemed to puffing out of its cracks every so often, as if something was escaping. "The fractured pearl…" I muttered. Staring at the orb made the memories of the angry Enderwoman's face return, making me shiver. Nazik let out a light chirp.

_You still have that?_ He asked.

"Of course," I started, "I couldn't get rid of it because I wanted to see if I could learn anything from it, but now I think it's causing problems. I'm not in my right state of mind anymore with it being around and…leaking. Could the essences be seeping through the cracks?" I asked. He grumbled a little.

_I do not know. It could be possible. I have never been around a cracked heart. Either it is whole or it is in shards._ He said, with a slight scowl. _You should just break it. Take the memories. You might find them interesting and all you wanted to learn from it. _I really did want to take him up on the offer. Seeing the life of an Enderperson through the eyes of one would be an unbeatable experience. I took the pearl tightly in my hands and raised it over my knee; finding it to be the only hard place I could smash it against. Swiftly, I shattered it against my knee, a weird haze bursting from the inside and enveloping me.

Then, like a river, the memories rushed into my head: fast, vibrant, and violent. Her name had been Rataugh, she was a trouble maker, she had lived quite a while, she had been reincarnated twice, and she had 'copulated' with many different Enderman. Her memory of me was much different on the incident, however. Because the memories had been spilling out of the pearl, there wasn't much left but the incident of me and her. She heard me falling down the mountain from inside the cavern she had been resting in. She came to the mouth of it just as I had hit the snow pile. Her mind ran through the possibilities of what I could've been, maybe a fallen cow or pig. As my head appeared out of the snow, her body froze with fear.

"A Crafter?! I thought they had all finally left us alone!" She hissed, the hiss of her voice almost turning into a shriek. Then my eyes me hers, her fury boiling over. She wasn't attacking out of unconscious, primal violence. She was protecting the world from me. I was the monster. I was too small to bat around and kill, the slash against my back the only hit she could manage to get while fighting the pain in her hand. She was getting more frustrated the more I evaded and sliced into her. When she finally grasped me, her rage was as hot as boiling lava.

Then, Nazik appeared. She was more startled by his presence than angry. He suddenly appeared, was supposed to help her, and then mortally wounded her. She had barely enough time to realize that the Crafter had fallen from her grasp and that her hand was practically severed before she could even blink. _What fresh hell was this?!_

"Why?! What quarrel do you have with me?!" She screamed, clutching her arm. Nazik held the Crafter in his hand, glaring fire into her.

"Do not touch what is mine, Rataugh." He hissed. She believed he was mad, psychotic, and confused. He was clearly crazy enough to hurt his own kind. He attacked before she could attack him herself. Nazik was stronger, faster, and smarter than she had originally assumed. Her hand proved that he was quicker and more able-bodied, but he was out maneuvering her. Even seeing the paths in which he teleported, he was too fast to keep up with as he tore her apart. I could feel every tear, every rip, and every pull of every blow Nazik gave. Then, I lost sight in my left eye and I felt blood running down nearly every inch of my body.

Nazik kicked my body over, my body too weak to retaliate, and slammed his knee into my stomach.

"Do not do this…she is a Crafter. She is a parasite. They killed Mother." I whispered, the pain too much to even feel. Weakly, I grabbed his wrist, his eyes meeting my one.

"Mother is of no importance. The Crafter is. You have no right to tell me what is important and what is not." He hissed, clutching my head. As he pulled my heart out, I let out on last angry hiss.

"Traitor." I opened my eyes, finding that I could see from both. Looking around, I realized I was still holding the shards of Rataugh's heart. As a matter of fact, it had only been seconds passed since I had shattered the pearl. The memories passing felt as though years had been relived and the sun and moon and risen and fallen so many times and I had felt every day. I put my hand against Nazik's and looked up to him.

"She called you a traitor." I muttered. He looked down, confusion flashing through the magenta pools, and then solemn admittance rested in his eyes.

_Yes. She did not understand._ He said, the words dim in his hand. Since I felt the betrayal almost personally, I felt there was a problem. It also brought up another point in my mind.

"You're changing your nature for me."

_What do you mean? _He asked, still continuing to walk through the forest to the sands.

"Your Enderman nature, you're changing it. You're betraying your own kind to protect me. I didn't want you to change for me." I said. He huffed and suddenly teleported into another grove of trees, the trees edging the sand. He placed me into the tree above him and looked at me.

_Natalie, you do not understand. I am who I want to be now. I am not being told what to be or what to like or who to be around. It is as though I am no longer a child, or whatever the early form of surface creatures are. I am Nazik, the free Enderman with the life he chose. _He said. His eyes pleaded for me to understand, to truly take in the depth of his life. His eyes blazed with conviction and almost anger. I sighed. I now felt like I was fighting against him. I felt the pain of being torn apart and betrayed, but I had yet to realize the pain he caused was for me and the right to keep the life he had chosen for himself. He was fighting for his freedom. He was fighting to keep it.

The rest of the walk through the sand was quiet and uneventful. Nazik didn't talk. He actually didn't make a single sound as he carried me. I wanted to talk to him and tell him I was sorry for persistently bringing up that he was different, or that I talked like I knew who exactly who he should be. He knew. He just didn't care enough to flaunt it or do anything about it. My habit of over-thinking situations was starting to make it hard to communicate with him. I even noticed that it was hard for Kuje to really answer my questions because he knew I was going to jump to a major conclusion with whatever he told me and blow everything out of proportions. I could only hope that Sammy was still as oblivious and overly excitable as I had remembered her being.

Nazik gently placed me on the sand, the soft _shuff_ sound of it beneath my feet helping me enjoy the warmth of the sun. The village was close and I could see it from where we were. It had felt like so long since I had said goodbye to Kuje, but it had barely even been half a day. The blandness of this adventure finally seemed to lift as goals seemed to be getting closer to success.

Nazik chirped a little, making me turn to him to see him squinting in the sun.

_I will go. I am sure this 'Sammy' will want to meet me so I will not be far away. Just call for me when you want me, alright?_ He said. I nodded and looked up into his weary eyes. I took his hand in both of mine and gently squeezed and held onto him. He looked slightly confused and concerned.

"I'm sorry about not wanting you to change. You are who you want to be and I have no right to tell you who you should or shouldn't be." I told him sincerely. He blinked a couple times and then his odd grin touched the edge of his lips.

_You apologize over the simplest of things. Do not worry so much. I will never be mad at you for who you are._ He stated. I grinned a little and reluctantly let go of his hand. I knew it must have taken a lot of strength to stick around with an anxiety-prone worrywart. He was gone in an instant, the sun sinking in front of me. It was time to scour an unknown village for someone who knew me too well.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?" The jolly, fat villager exclaimed, full-belly-laughing at me. "She's down the lane at the last house. You can't miss it." He pointed me out the door and down the street. I knew I looked bedraggled. I felt like I had been asking people about Sammy for so long. The sun was only a hand's length above the horizon. I figured if I had waved around a few emeralds to humor the villagers it would've gotten me information about Sammy sooner, but I had only thought of that plan recently. It worked much faster than it probably should have, and I kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner.

I had decided to spend a little time shopping to indulge the material side of me, when I overheard two villagers talking.

"Yeah, I heard the lady-village has been having some troubles. The Endermen have been demolishing houses recently."

"I heard they were actually going into the houses without actually breaking a thing. They seem to be crafty like that. Some Crafter apparently helped keep them out or something like that. Have you heard they don't like water?"

"Yeah, heard about it. You know what else I heard?"

"What?"

"That same Crafter is in ca-hoots with an Enderman."

"No way!"

"Ye-ha! More than ca-hoots actually-" They continued talking, but I couldn't listen to anymore. My face was burning like the Nether itself and I was trying to hide my face from the others in the building. I was clutching a packet of cocoa beans so hard I was afraid it'd burst. How did they know?! Did Rea spread it around to everyone? I relaxed a little. Maybe she had. She did say she was going to tell the truth to everyone when I left. I just really didn't think the news would travel as far as here, and if it even had that it would have gotten here so quickly. It was kind of frustrating actually to think that gossip could spread that far and fast.

"Ma'am, are you going to pay for those?" A small voice addressed me from below. I looked down to find a child looking up at me. He was a cute little man. I smiled kindly and put the cocoa beans back.

"I'm actually looking for some sweets. Do you have some cookies here?" I asked. The little man grinned and nodded, taking me to the other side. The other side had all sorts of goodies. Cakes, pies, and cookies, looking all to be made from scratch, were packaged to be sold and lined on shelves. I took a small parcel of cookies and told the little villager this was all I needed. "What would you like for them?" I asked. He looked a little frazzled as he thought about it, scratching his head. He looked back up to me.

"Well…can I ask you some questions?" He asked, his voice a little low. I raised an eyebrow and kneeled down to his level.

"Sure?" I replied, knowing it sounded more like a question than a reply. He fidgeted a little.

"Are you the Crafter they keep talking about? The one with the Enderman?" He asked. I felt my face flush again and I felt the urge to hide and deny it, but I knew I didn't have to. I just didn't want people to bombard me with questions all over the place.

"Y-yes I am." I answered. His eyes suddenly lit up and he seemed so excited now.

"Oh my gosh! Really? What's he like? Is he mean? Is he as big as the ones I see on the beach?" He kept spouting questions and I panicked a little.

"Okay, sweetie, I'll answer your questions but can we please take this outside?" After a minute, we were sitting on one of the wheat planters, chattering away. I felt bad because I was bashing this poor kid's dreams of having an Enderman as a friend, but in a way I was hoping he was learning to at least avoid danger when it wasn't necessary. I was actually happy to be talking to a child. Awkward questions and the interrogation about our physical relationship were left alone. Innocence was nice sometimes.

"So…is you Enderman at least nice to you?" He asked. I nodded and took a bite from one of my cookies.

"Of course. He's much different from any of the others. He's nice. He's protected me many times and helped me learn a lot about his kind. He's even helped me learn about myself." I answered. The little villager – Jes, I learned – swung his feet and tapped his heels against the trunks of the planter. He hopped off and looked at me.

"Thank you, Natalie. I promise I will keep your personal business out of Daddy's shop as much as possible." Jes said with a kind smile. I smiled again and nodded.

"Oh, do you know if Sammy's home? I'm going to go visit her." I said, hopping off the planter.

"No, but her house is always open. Anybody's welcome in and she should be back before moonrise." Jes answered. I nodded and dug in my pocket.

"Hey, Jes." I called as he started walking away. I took his hand and placed a fair sized emerald in his small hand. "Thank you." I said. His already bright smile widened to an almost unimaginable beaming expression of joy. He hugged me and then darted back to his father's shop. I casually started down the gravel path, following down to the last house on the left. The jolly villager had been right; I couldn't have missed it.

The house was two stories tall, completely different from the others in the village, and it was made completely from spruce wood, instead of oak. She had made the house herself, clearly, and her taste in architecture told me she had changed just a bit. I hesitantly opened the front door, feeling as though I was truly trespassing. The furnishings also told me she had matured a bit. Large paintings adorned the walls. The ceilings were high with wooden chandeliers. Sofas and a center table sat in the living area, wide windows bringing in the sunlight. I didn't want to explore the house anymore, just in case I got caught. I took a seat on the sofa, basking in the warmth of the window. I could hear the ocean just outside the back door, the waves drawing me in. I had to go see it for myself. It had to be beautiful.

Through the elegant hall, I opened the back door and saw the glistening blue of the wide open water. The deck was wide and acted almost like a dock, fences keeping the careless from falling off. Deck chairs offered me a place to sit and enjoy the view.

Enjoying the view took up more time than I believed it should have. I was watching the sun fall lower and lower, an orange haze touching the horizon. Waiting sent me into a trance. By the time I realized there was someone near me, I was too late to react.

A blade sat against my throat, cold iron chilling my skin. A hand gently lay against my shoulder, the hand warm and almost comforting. I waited for an interrogating voice, or at least some sort of violence to punish my trespassing. Again, I waited and waited but nothing came. However, the sword stayed firmly against my throat and I couldn't turn to face the confronter.

After a long moment, the blade let up slightly and I felt a breath against my ear. Their lips lingered close for a moment, and then they softly let out a giggle. I suddenly felt a mixture of relief and irritation.

"Took you long enough to find me, Natalie." Her voice came, soft and cheery. I took in a deep breath and turned sharply.

"Since when do you think of attacking people before saying hello?" I asked, letting a grin tell her I wasn't mad. Sammy laughed, gently placing the sword over her shoulder. I took her physique in, finding that her face was the only thing that hadn't really changed. Her clothes covered a lot more of her, covering her ample cleavage and round thighs and butt. Her blonde hair was longer, staying tucked behind her ears and shining nicely in the orange light. Her smile was still big and wide, showing the perfect white teeth she had. She was still as lovely as ever.

"Since people started randomly dropping in on me. I'm guessing the villagers said the house was open?" She asked, pulling up another chair. I nodded.

"Yeah. They said anyone was welcome. I figured you would know it was me. Also, I didn't think you'd try to kill me." I said. She laughed again.

"I only did that cause I knew it was you. You know me. I like greeting my friends with a little something special." She said. I nodded and smiled. She looked to the setting sun and sharply looked to me. "You know," She paused for a moment, "There's a rumor about one us floating around. There's only one crazy enough for that rumor to have been started." She said. I felt like I was under attack again.

"The Enderman rumor, I'm guessing?" I muttered. She nodded once, leaning in on her knees with her elbows. There was still a glimmer of humor in her blue eyes and her playful grin appeared. That grin was one I had seen many times, and it always led to a long night and a bath.

"So where's you Enderman? I'd like to meet the one who's been playing with you." She said. Something told me she was a little pent up and she needed a little love. It was somewhat off putting.

"Well, I can get him if you want. He figured you'd want to meet him anyway." I said, slighting edging away from her gaze. She nodded eagerly. I called out for him, almost feeling like I was calling for help. The familiar warmth in my chest throbbed and the purple particles appeared behind Sammy. Nazik stood tall, looking down at Sammy. Sammy tuned to him, her mouth falling open. I heard her mutter, 'oh my…' before standing up. Nazik looked to me, seeming confused.

_Is everything alright with her?_ He asked looking down to see Sammy admiring his body. I grinned a little, more embarrassed than anything.

"Well," I scratched behind my ear for a moment, "I believe that Sammy would like us to stay the night and…discuss some things." I said, my voice slightly trailing off. Sammy turned to me, a cheeky smile filling her face. She sidled up to me, prodding me in the side.

"You've messed around with him, haven't you? Haven't you? Come on, spill the details! How big is he? Does he like getting rough?" I'm not exactly sure how far red a person's face can get, but I was sure there were licks of fire spewing from my cheeks. After several moons of not seeing my friend, she was already past the personal boundaries I had believed were apparent. She was still oblivious.

"Umm…let's eat first. Then, this discussion might continue later." I choked a little, feeling as though I was about to swallow my tongue. Sammy, again, nodded eagerly and waved us both inside.

The night seemed to be back under control. We are steak, talked over dessert, and then we discussed what had happened over the months of not seeing each other.

"What happened to Thomas? Does he live here, too?" I asked. She shook her head, looking down.

"Tommy disappeared, chasing stories. He stayed cooped up in the libraries looking for The End. He apparently found a map to a Crafter's sanctuary at the center of this world. Haven't seen him since." She said, sipping water. "I honestly think he lost it when out entire group of companions suddenly disappeared. He liked knowing he had people to depend on; then the books seemed to drive him crazy. I'm no book person so he had no one to talk to. You were always that person." She said, looking back up. It was hard to read her eyes at that moment. Was she blaming me for his disappearance? Granted, I thought they were dead and never looked for them after their disappearance, but they didn't look for me either.

"Sammy, I don't really know what I could say here. I mean, look at what we've created on our own, what _you_ have created by yourself. I've gotten so much accomplished. I'm not saying I didn't miss everyone, but look at who we are now. Whatever happened between yours and my separation, it was meant to happen." I explained. Sammy licked a spot of frosting from her finger and sighed.

"You don't have to defend yourself, Nat. I know we can't change what's happened. Rodrick, Alicia, and Johnny are dead and for all I know, Tommy is too." She said. I could feel an anxiety rise.

"How do you know they're dead?" I asked. She looked at me as though I had asked the most idiotic question I could've ever asked her.

"I watched them die. I was just over the hill when I saw it. I also believe I am being genuinely hospitable by letting him," She pointed harshly at Nazik, "In my house, you know since he was the one that killed them." Both Nazik and I jolted hard.

"How did you know it was him?" I shakily asked. Nazik grumbled, sitting on the floor.

"He has the same motions, scars, and same shade of eyes. When I was looking over him, I wasn't just looking for his dick." She brushed her hair back, "Also…just call it intuition." I never thought of paying attention to his scars. I could barely see them. Sammy stood up and grinned a little. "Don't worry.. I'm not going to kill either of you or throw you out. I know they attacked you first. Also, if I killed you before experiencing you, I'd never forgive myself." She said, her smile getting wider. I knew we were going to be in the bedroom eventually, and I was warming up to fooling around, but I thought Nazik was a little confused. Actually, I knew he was. He wasn't used to unclear innuendos.

_Are you meaning sex because I am very willing to do that, but I am not completely sure of what you are talking about?_ He said looking to Sammy. She laughed a little, causing me to grin.

"Yes, sweetheart. That is what I'm talking about. But it's up to Natalie. You're her partner, after all." She said, both of them looking to me. I didn't have a problem with. I had slept with Sammy several times; I had slept with Nazik several times. Doing both at the same time would probably be the best sec of my life. I took the initiative of starting it myself.

I pushed out of the chair and walked over to Sammy. I put one hand on her shoulder and slid the other into her hair. Quickly, I put my lips to hers. They were warm, soft, and sweet; just how I remembered. She kissed back, the tip of her tongue grazing mine, teasing me. It was like she had initiated a war; I fully wrapped my tongue around hers and started trying to devour her. Only then did I realize I missed being with someone who was the same height and size as me. I could devour her instead of being devoured.

We ran out hands up and down each other's waists, her leg resting against my thigh as I held her around me. I could feel her warmth from between her legs. So inviting…so tantalizing…

I softly pulled my tongue from the inside of her mouth, knowing we might want to move to her bedroom. She licked her lips and grinned. We both looked to Nazik to find he had been watching. The fully glory of his member was there for us both to see. Sammy almost drooled at the sight and I was fully ready to play.

"Nazik, can you take us to her bedroom, please?" I asked, sliding my hand to Sammy's firm butt. He grinned and obliged. In a flash, we were in a wide open, warm room. With a quick scan of my surroundings, I found that the whole floor was a bed. Soft, plush surface with blankets and pillows scattered about. It was amazing and just as I was about to voice my admiration Sammy pounced me down onto the bed.

Sammy was just how I remember her: loud, warm, and delightfully insatiable. I was lucky to have Nazik and his grand…stamina to finish her for me. In the Sammy's bedroom, silently I admired the whole bed-floor and enjoyed the warmth and mood the fire place on the far side set. After who knows how long of re-accommodating ourselves with each other's bodies, we lay breathlessly on the plush bed. Sammy and I smiled to the Enderman beside us.

"Thank you, Nazik." We murmured. All three of us lay back, sighing in content. Snuggling up to each other, Sammy pecked my cheek.

"We should do that again." She muttered. I was tired. I knew she was. She wasn't thinking clearly, and I was so tired I was thinking too literally.

"When?" Before I had finished the word, I had found her sleeping face. I looked over to Nazik, drifting off in his eyes. The last sensation I felt was the warmth of his hand embracing me.

"Of course, I'll come with you." Sammy exclaimed, almost shocked that I had been doubtful.

"We're going to have to mine a bit for better resources. If we're going to The End, iron isn't going to cut it." I explained. Nazik chirped.

_What about the diamonds I found a couple suns ago?_ He asked.

"There's enough for me, but not for her. I have enough emeralds to see if some of the villagers have anything to give, but something tells me that were going to have to go down into the depths." I answered.

"I can get the blacksmith to make out armor and weapons." Sammy said, taking a bite from an apple. "Are we going to The End or the Crafter sanctuary first, though? The sanctuary seems easier." I agreed. Maybe there was something there to help us along the way.

Plans were finally being made, and as far as we could see, there wouldn't be any problems. Nazik was trying to remember where exactly the stronghold was, but could only remember vague locations on the surface. He knew it was below a jungle. It was a pain to think of it being in a jungle. There were at least three on the map, all of them fairly sizable.

Sammy and I cleaned up breakfast, packed up our things, and started for the village. Before we even stepped onto the gravel path, something caught my attention. Someone was yelling my name. Their voice echoed off the beach sand, the waves washing away the noise. I looked down the path, seeing someone rushing toward us. I squinted to see, slightly recognizing the figure.

"Kuje?" I muttered. He rushed closer, skidding against the loose gravel.

"Natalie! Natalie, I've seen more! I have to tell you!" He cried, panting and wheezing. I stared at him, slightly dumbfounded.

"Did you run all of the way here?" I asked. He panted, doubled over and still wheezing. He looked so disheveled. It was kinda sad.

"Yes…I had to. I…had more visions of you and Nazik." He said. I cocked my head, looking to Sammy. She looked far more confused than I did.

"What did you see? Is it bad?" I asked. He looked up at me, slowly standing up. He looked afraid to tell me now. I was curious though. I had to know.

"Natalie, I'm sorry. None of it seems good." He answered. I started slowly walking, wanting him to follow. "A burning sea, shining stones glimmering below and above, this place…nothing dies…because no one's sure if they're alive. Everything burns and only welcomes sure death and pain." He muttered. I understood it completely, though I didn't understand why it was so choppy. His visions were getting choppier the more he told me about them.

"I know what place you're talking about, but I don't believe I should worry. I have potions to help me fight the fire and I'm not inexperienced with weapons." Kuje seemed to understand and actually feel better about that vision. I could tell though, that there was something else.

"Swimming in lava is one thing, but there's something that can't be aided or, to me, understood. Purple, angry pools, more than two, prey upon one, two run, one falls, one watches, one dies." He stated. This time, I could honestly say, I barely understood a thing. The only thing that really made any sense to me was the pools of purple. I had thought of Nazik's eyes as such. More than two? Did that mean more than one Enderman? As the questions started piling, the scenario started coming through and my heart turned cold.

"There's…Endermen coming after us and one of us is going to watch the other die?" I asked quietly, looking over to Kuje. "Could this tie to the 'pool of black' vision you had?" Kuje nodded.

"I think it does. These visions were more cryptic and cut up, but I could see flashes of extreme terror. I know it is possible that it could be untrue, but you know I've never proven myself wrong." He explained. I was truly afraid. I knew I was holding onto a theory too critically, but Nazik was the one partner that I couldn't stand the thought of losing. All of the others, I felt bad to admit, were just nice to have around for company, but were pretty much useless. Nazik had everything I wanted; usefulness, strength, intelligence, sex appeal, and the patience to listen to me. Even if I had nothing to do in any world, any dimension, I would have him.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Sammy chimed in, making me realize I had totally secluded her from the discussion. Kuje had barely acknowledged she was there when he'd arrived.

"Sorry, Sammy. This is Kuje. He's a villager I met on the way here who has the gift of mental sight. He knew of Nazik's and my existence before we met him, so I believe all of the other visions he's had could be true." I said, sighing, "He believes that Nazik's going to die in the stronghold in this world." Sammy looked to Kuje, shocked at the last statement.

"Wait…if I've been listening properly, you and Nazik are being hunted by other Endermen, and you guys are going to be at the foot of the End Portal when he dies?" She explained, slightly panicked. Kuje and I nodded. She crossed her arms, frustrated. "We were planning on going to the sanctuary before even looking for the stronghold. That could be full moons from now. By then, we could give up on going there." She said, trying to make me feel better, I think. It honestly did help, but things always changed, especially when they're planned by us. Also, with Endermen, they could appear and be anywhere. They were also vicious and held grudges, if Rataugh's memory served correctly.

We continued with what we had originally planned. We gave the blacksmith our requests for armor, finding he had ample supplies – for a price – to make all of the sets of armor we needed, including Kuje's. The villager blacksmith promised it would be down in less than a week. A couple extra emeralds ensured it would be done in three days.

Kuje explained that his dreams were cloudy, even non-existent, which was something he had never experienced. Something bad was going to happen, he said, feeling that he himself was either in jeopardy or someone else he had trusted. Sammy said that we should hasten our plans at any rate. She wasn't comfortable at all with the thought that the party was being targeted.

Kuje stayed with us in Sammy's house in the bedroom made for guests on the second floor. He had explained everything to Nazik, who seemed to take the news as if he had already expected it.

"How can you be so unfazed by this?" Sammy asked completely astounded. Nazik looked over to her, his gaze soft and somewhat sad.

_I have betrayed my kind. Fighting over territory and possessions is one thing, but killing one of our own in the name of the forsaken is another._ He said. He seemed rather solemn about the whole thing. It was as if he was accepting the death penalty with his honor keeping his head held up high.

"Wait, you guys have left out a lot about your misadventures. What exactly _did_ you do?" Sammy asked. I was tired of her questions already. I didn't care if we hadn't told her anything. I felt that sometimes things were self-explanatory and sometimes things just needed to be left alone. I would humor her anyway, but harsher than I had intended.

"Nazik killed an Enderwoman – yes, an Enderwoman – to protect me. She was protecting the Overworld from Crafters like us, but Nazik protected me because of his feelings for me. I can only figure that they now have labeled him a traitor. They're going to try and kill him, me, or us both." I explained, my voice taking on an angered edge. Sammy heard it and let the conversation die for a moment. There was a lot of tension in the room. We were all on edge, or at least that was what it felt like. It could have just been my guilt at snapping at Sammy.

"So what are we going to do?" Kuje spoke up softly.

"We fight back and continue on." I stated bluntly. The uneasiness didn't fade.

"How?" Sammy asked.

"We will have our armor. We have our weapons. We can carry any slight aids, like bottles of water or something, with us. We'll just have to make due." I said. They all slowly nodded in agreement, seeming to come up with a consensus.

"Do you think they'll try to attack during the day?" Kuje asked, looking to me. I looked up to Nazik, not sure what to say.

_They could if they were truly determined. The sunlight could blind them enough to where we do not have to worry, but I have never heard of any instance where we would band together to punish one of our own. Anything is possible now. _He explained. We were all in agreement at that. Crafters knew barely anything definitive when it came to the End dwellers. They seemed to be as unpredictable as originally feared.

"Are we sure it's every Enderperson in existence now? I would think it would only be a select few of vengeful subjects." Kuje asked, testing a sound theory. He would be the one to know though; he was the one saying we were being hunted!

_That would be more likely, actually, _Nazik said, _We hold personal vendettas, not true war against one._ I nodded.

"Did Rataugh have any siblings or anyone like that?" Sammy asked, kind of choking on the word 'sibling.' I could tell she wasn't really sure whether or not they would be referred to as siblings or something else.

_The void materialized her and two males the time she was born. She has two brothers, Itaugh and Uhde. They are younger than me, thus unskilled and unknowing. _He said. I felt a faint chill as I imagined the Enderpeople being 'born.' They simply appeared from darkness? That's what the void meant to me. They were simply nothing but darkness.

"These Itaugh and Uhde…should we be as afraid of them as if you were the one against us?" Sammy asked Nazik, suddenly gaining an odd intensity. Nazik let out a small chuckle, the air hissing between his teeth.

_No. I am more dangerous in my ability to kill, but they only surpass me in lack of control. They are prone to fits of rage where they destroy things aimlessly. Against a Crafter, they might fare a chance, but against me at my full strength, they would be no match._ He said clearly proud of his strength. The group smiled, me included. The depressing cloud seemed to be lifted. We weren't facing the hoard of Enderman like we had originally thought; only two. That was even if we were being chased at all. If we were, Nazik was confident he could beat them both. That confidence seemed to be contagious.

The moon was high, Kuje and Sammy were already asleep, but I couldn't close my eyes. I could feel Nazik looking at me as I stared out into the glittering ocean. Softly, he turned me with a gentle finger to face him. He didn't have to speak. His eyes did that for him.

"I can't stop feeling like one of these nights you won't be here to be by me. You may be confident in your strength, but I'm not confident in mine. I don't feel like I have the ability to help you if anything goes wrong." The tears rose, spilling over my eyelids. "I don't want to you to die because I wasn't strong enough to help you." He held me tight, letting me cry against his chest, gently rubbing my back with his thumb.

_You do not have to worry about protecting me._ His words appeared in my mind, almost like they were on the back of my eyelids. I looked up at him, his eyes meeting mine. I wanted to ask how he did it, but it didn't matter now.

"But…" Before I could find anything to day, his fingers wiped tears from my cheek.

_Please do not cry. I can only wipe so many away._ The words, again, appeared in my head. He showed me his fingers, revealing the small burns my tears had made. I had remembered asking why my bodily fluids didn't burn him, though we were mostly made of water. 'Water is pure, fluids are not.' My tears were pure…my sadness hurt him. I wiped my eyes myself.

"You don't have to wipe my tears. I don't want to hurt you." I said, holding back a sob. A couple of his fingertips rested against my cheek and he stared deep into my eyes.

_I will wipe away every tear you cry if it helps you feel better. If you are in distress, so am I. Pain is something I can take if it is my own. Your pain is unbearable, so I will be there to make it stop whenever you need me. _He said, rubbing my cheek. I sniffled for a moment and rubbed my eyes again. It was as if he knew he was leaving me or if he knew there was no danger whatsoever; I couldn't tell which. Kuje could've been wrong. The future could been seen, but it could also be changed. There was nothing to worry about.

As I started to relax, Nazik held me tight and gently put my head against his chest. I felt him teleport us somewhere else, somewhere comfortable and soft.

"Good night, Nazik." I whispered, taking in his warmth.

_Good night, Natalie. _

"Maybe you can throw in a couple emeralds for my hard work in such a short time. This is really the best armor you'll find in the Overworld, at least made by a villager." The rugged villager bellowed, showing us his craftsmanship. The armor really was perfect, especially since he had made in three days like he had promised. The diamonds were scaled over leather pieces and pieced together with iron studs. It was well made, of good material, and even looked fashionable. To be honest, the only reason I didn't hand over the extra emeralds as an added tip was because I was enjoying watching the villager beg for them.

"I guess you have earned it, but you know, fifteen emeralds for each set is already fairly expensive." Sammy said, poorly hiding her amusement. The harsh straining I could see in the villager's jaw almost looked painful and looked as though he would shatter a tooth as he held back his urge to cry out and then fall to his knees begging. I had figured we had gone far enough in our taunting and I handed over the emeralds and complimented the man again. The emeralds seemed to wipe the frustration off his face and he smiled, thanking us for our business.

I packed our armor in our bags and strolled about the village. The danger Itaugh and Uhde posed hadn't left Sammy's mind since Nazik had mentioned it. Honestly, looking at the situation from her perspective, I could see almost being hateful, resentful, and almost completely prejudiced against Nazik and his kind. Half the group was murdered by an Enderman, and not only that, the culprit was now a part of our new party. She was holding back her anger and negative feelings, if she had any at all, very well.

"Do you think they're really going to be after us? I mean, I'd understand why they'd want revenge for their sister, but I really don't know enough about Enderpeople to really understand if they do that kinda thing." She said with a hint of irritation. She didn't want to deal with it, I could tell, but she wanted to help me. Really confused me on why she did, though.

"I don't know enough myself to really try to figure it out if it's possible. Nazik thinks so. That's enough for me." I answered, staring off into the mountain range. We would be traveling against those rocks by the end of the day. The mountains were tall, almost cut in half by the clouds. I could see snow. The images of Rataugh's angry glares flashed through my head, then I remembered the pain. I cringed. The wound was now a scar, healed and clean, but…it still hurt to remember. Now, we might see her brothers. Shaking my head, I had realized that Sammy was talking.

"Sorry, I missed that. What?" I asked, turning back to her. Her face showed concern, almost grief.

"Do you think Nazik will be able to hold his own against two Endermen?" She asked, adding emphasis to her voice to say she had repeated the question. I didn't know how to answer her. I had only seen him in a fight once and all I knew was that he had fought and killed two others. Maybe he could. Maybe he couldn't. I didn't know.

"I don't want to think about it…" Was all I answered with. She nodded and let the subject drop. A swimming in my chest suddenly caught me off guard. Nazik appeared beside me, looking down at me. He never came out in the day time. Something was wrong.

_Are we ready to leave yet?_ He asked, the words appearing in his palm instead of the back of my head. Sammy nodded, realizing as well that something was wrong.

"We should be after we buy some food and blankets. Why, what's wrong?" She asked. Nazik looked to the mountain ridge and sighed, the purple particles glimmering around all of us.

_The sand feels unsafe. I feel like there is something beneath us ready to strike and bury us._ He said, looking to us both. I looked to the sand, looking down the entire expanse of the beach. For all we knew, there was another ravine beneath us and the only thing holding the entire village up was a little bit of sandstone and surface tension. One piece could sink the entire place.

"How soon do you think we should leave?" I asked. Almost immediately, he replied with, _As soon as possible._ Just as I turned on my heels to head back to the village, a small villager ran up to me, unfathomable wonder in his little eyes.

"You're the Enderman!" He exclaimed, his smile big and toothy; revealing he actually had a couple teeth missing. It was Jes, the little boy I had met at the shop. Nazik looked bewildered, almost completely dumbfounded, but he didn't disappear to hide. Jes barely came up to his knee. Actually, that was exactly how tall he was to Nazik. The little villager stared up at him, still smiling. I couldn't help but smile with him as I watched him and his innocent curiosity.

"Nazik, this is Jes. He talked to me out first day here and quickly realized I was the one with the Enderman friend. He seemed really eager to meet you." I said. Nazik looked at me and then back to the little boy. He blinked a couple times and them seemed kinda happy. He kneeled slowly, careful not to squash the poor kid. Jes took Nazik's hand, inspecting his claws and wrapping his hands around his fingers. He poked and prodded him, looking particularly at on Nazik's head. He pried his mouth open, looking at his fangs and tongue.

"Wow…no wonder people are afraid of you. You really are dangerous and scary, huh?" Jes muttered as he peered into Nazik's open maw. I was amazed. Nazik had no problem letting the little pest bug the heck out of him. Either he had endless patience or he didn't have the mind to hurt a child.

_I am only scary if I want to be._ Nazik said, needing me to translate for him. Jes giggled and looked back to me and Sammy. He noticed the bags on our backs and his child-like cheer melted away.

"You're leaving?" He asked quietly, sounding heart-breakingly disappointed.

"Yes. We have more of our adventure to get on with." I said. Jes frowned hard and looked to Nazik.

"But…but you just got here." He almost cried. Nazik stood up, holding the boy in his hand.

"Sorry, Jes." Was all I could really say. I was sorry that we had to leave, but I couldn't stay behind for him. His disappointed green eyes peered down at me.

"Well…can I stay with you guys until you actually go?" He asked, getting comfortable in Nazik's hand. I looked to Nazik, who simply shrugged, and nodded. The little villager cheered and enjoyed the ride like he was riding a pony.

Before I even realized what we were doing, the stares and shocked gasps reminded me what exactly I had brought back into the village. The villagers stared in horror as an Enderman walked among them. Not only that, it was holding one of their children. Then, they saw me. At the sight of me, they seemed to come to the conclusion that their rumors had proven true. There was a Crafter in 'ca-hoots' with an Enderman.

We stepped up to the food shop, being followed in by several not-so-inconspicuously-curious villagers. They wouldn't come to me directly to ask if I truly was the one with the 'pet' Enderman. They simply stayed at arm's length and pointed and muttered through the sides of their mouths. I was starting to feel my irritation rise to burn in my forehead, but I could see Sammy starting to shoulder people away. As I looked up to the store owner, I saw someone had already gotten to him first, whispering in his ear behind their hand. The shop keeper's eyes shot up at me and I suddenly felt an overwhelming fear strike me.

"What is _your_," there was serious emphasis on 'your,' "Enderman doing with my son?" He snapped, the villagers all turning to stare dead at me, waiting for my answer. I had to remember that no one had ever been close to an Enderman and now one was so close they could literally touch him. I didn't want them to think all Enderpeople were this way, but I wanted them to respect Nazik.

"Your son is safe. Jes actually knew that the Enderman was my partner. Nazik will not hurt anyone here as long as no one hurts him." I explained, making sure every other villager heard me. Choruses of questions and comments started coming in. 'You expect us to believe that?' 'He's a monster!' 'He'll kill you the moment when you least expect it, you naïve Crafter!' I clinched my fists and the frustration boiled over.

"Look! Just listen!" I yelled. The shop went silent. I looked around, finding Nazik's face in the window with Jes's head right next to his. They were both listening, too. "We just want to buy some food so we can get out of here. We might be back. We might end up somewhere else. If Nazik bothers you that badly, then we'll never come back and you'll never see us again. Just let us buy some food so we can go." I explained, feeling a ringing in my ears that made me wonder if I had screamed all of that at them. They all continued to listen, knowing I had more to tell them. "I can guarantee no other Enderman will be as generous as he is. I may be naïve but don't let your own naiveté get you killed." I finished. The villagers muttered a little more and then, surprisingly, they started to leave. Soon, only me, Sammy, the shop keeper, and the original shoppers were left in the small store. The shop keeper looked out the window at his son and saw Nazik with him. Jes waved at his father, still as happy as ever. The father gave a defeated sigh and looked back to me.

"What do you need?" He grumbled. After we dealt with him, Kuje rejoined us and we discussed what to do next. Jes stayed almost literally attached to Nazik's leg as we made our way back to the edge of the village. We all looked to Jes, who promptly slouched and looked to the ground.

"I guess this is where we say goodbye." He muttered.

"'fraid so." Sammy said. I could tell Jes was trying his best not to be too upset, but I understood how he felt.

"We might see you again. Hopefully." I said, patting his little bald head. Nazik stepped away from him and looked back.

_Bye, Jes._ Nazik said. Jes waved goodbye and we left. The sun was still high, but I was still concerned. If Nazik was willing to be in the sun, any others could be too.

"Do your eyes hurt being out here? I remember you saying Endermen didn't fare well at seeing in the sun." Kuje said, looking back to him. Nazik nodded, his eyes only slightly squinted. We made our way up the mountain ridge, taking a quick rest in the shade. Kuje and Sammy made small talk, a noticeable companionship forming between them. I watched them, seeming lost in my own head. Wasn't really sure what I was thinking about. Just seemed lost and empty headed, but still looking for a thought.

_Are you alright?_ The words appeared in the emptiness that was in my mind. I looked up to Nazik, thinking now was a better time than any to ask.

"How can you do that? The words in my head?" I asked him. He grumbled, a small chirp grumbling in his throat.

_There is enough darkness in someone's mind that I can use it to project onto their thoughts. I know it doesn't seem very logical, or even possible, but darkness is the one thing we can manipulate very well, whether it be literal or figurative._ He explained. I felt an imaginary shiver in my spine. They were born from darkness. Did that mean all of them could appear or do anything in and with darkness? It was chilling, and very scary. More and more aspects of Enderman ability were making it hard to think we were safe anywhere. The shadows could jump at us, or the dark of a cave could harbor a threat. _Does it scare you?_ He asked. I took hold of his arm and lay my head against him.

"No," I lied, "It just scares me that the others could have that ability, too." I said. He hummed a little, like he was agreeing. I realized I had something else to ask him, my thoughts finally appearing and organizing. "The unsafe feeling you had at the village…was that Itaugh and Uhde? We're they beneath the sand?" I asked. Again, Nazik sighed like before, seeming to be dealing with an internal discord.

_Yes, I believe so. I am not completely sure, though. They did not speak or cause any sort of disruption. If it was them, they were simply watching us._ He said. I hated not being sure. Everything I had been told in the last several days was all unsure. Why couldn't things just be clean cut and precise for at least a little while? It just added to the frustration.

"You at least know they were Endermen, right?"

_Yes._

We lay in the mountain face, sitting around a fire, eating pork chops, and watching for monsters.

"How much farther are we?" Sammy asked. I pulled out Rea's map, finding that more little markers designated all our positions. We were closely placed together, but they all sat in a circle like were around the fire. I inspected the map and loosely judged distances between here and the other mountains.

"We've settled in the big ridge separating the beaches and the desert from the valley, but there's a chunk of jungle stretching out in front of the main mountain range." I said, speaking my observations. "Actually I don't think it's a range…"

"Is it only one mountain?" Kuje asked, almost surprised by the thought. I inspected a little closer.

"Eeeee…e-yup. Just one mountain from what I can see. It's just tall. Very, very tall." I said.

_The mountain is extremely steep with floating structures that have to be bridged together for any average creature to get across._ Nazik said, toying with an apple in his other hand. We all eyed him a little.

"You can tell that from the map?" Sammy asked. Nazik swallowed the apple whole and looked at her.

_No. I have been to that mountain._ He said. The circle stayed gazing intently at him. I knew what they were thinking, because I was thinking the same thing. He didn't let on whenever he knew about something. He just said it like we knew already. _I have not been to the sanctuary, if that is what you are wondering. I have only walked among the base of the mountain._ He said. Sammy flopped her arms against her lap and rolled her eyes, "Of course." I made a face at her, telling her to cut it out.

"Either way, we'll be there in a day or two." I said.

"The only problem I see is the floating mountains. They stand on their own, sturdy as an oak tree, but you can walk right under them as if they were some weird illusion. I still find it rather strange myself." Kuje murmured. I nodded, still unsure of how we were going to bridge across. I really didn't want to carry around clumps of dirt. Sammy stretched and groaned, done with the conversation.

"Well, I think I'm done. Everyone should sleep." She said, getting up and digging in her bag. She flung out wooden planks, building herself a secluded little shelter. She put up the door and grinned. She nonchalantly waved Kuje over to her little shelter. "No disruptions." She said, slamming the door and leaving me and Nazik by ourselves. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

_She will copulate with anyone, will she not?_ He huffed. I chuckled a little and nodded.

"She had slept with everyone in our group at one point or another. Who knows how many villagers she could've slept with." I looked up to him. "I stopped keeping track." He hiss-laughed, taking a seat on the edge of the mouth of our crevice of the mountain. I moved over to sit next to him and looked over the ground far below us. Skeletons and zombies walked around aimlessly with open mouths and angry clattering. Creepers clawed at the ground, hissing at every little thing that got a little too close. Spiders climbed the walls, looking for dinner to trap. Only one thing was missing from the usual night patrol. Endermen.

_You are still thinking about them_. He said, chirping. I let out a breath, rubbing the goose bumps out of my arm.

"What makes you say that?" I asked quietly. He lowered his head down, looking at me with a sarcastic look.

_ I can hear your heart fluttering rapidly all the way up here. _He said sitting back up. I felt my agitation grow and he must have picked up on it. He pat my head softly. _You are safe with me, Natalie._ I leaned against him and shook my head.

"You're not safe with me."

We approached the jungle, realizing that the small piece on the map that had showed a jungle was actually much bigger in person. All of us thought about going around it, but agreed that it would've taken just as long, or even longer. Climbing the branches, up into the canopies, we were already ready to call it a day half way through the trek. The trees grazed the clouds, the tallest ones at least. Rustling scared me at every time, nine times out of ten it was only a curious little chicken hiding in the leaves. The one time out of ten, it was an ocelot. Nazik was frustrated, teleporting back and forth over the treetops.

_I do not like it here. It is hard to find stable ground and footing._ He said, standing above me. I grinned and grabbed the hand he offered to hoist me up. He pulled me high onto a much taller tree.

"Well I forgot to mention to the other two that you could've helped us by teleporting us through the trees. I think it's better this way anyway. It adds more to the adventure." I said. He blinked a couple times, seeming to realize that he had the ability to teleport other people. It was as if he'd forgotten. I laughed a little and looked back, expecting to see Kuje and Sammy waiting for Nazik to lift them into the tree too. When I looked, they weren't there. I looked around a bit, seeing no movement in the trees.

"Sammy? Kuje?" I called loudly. I heard nothing but the rustling of leaves. I called louder, getting slightly worried. I looked up to Nazik. "Where are they?" I asked, hoping he would have an idea. He stared off into the dense trees, his purple specks glowing dimly.

_It does not matter. _The words were dull in my mind. His eyes were intense like he was thinking critically about something, but I didn't notice at first.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?!" I cried, "They're lost and we – " He cut me off. He grabbed me, suddenly pushing me into a bunch of branches and leaves. Before I could shake off the confusion, I heard a harsh scream, a scream only an Enderman could do. I looked up and saw two of them, one of them being Nazik, snapping and swiping claws. The other one, though, it was hard to truly tell, had deep scars down the sides of his forearms and a deep scar against his face. I quickly tried to climb out of the tree and draw my sword. It had to be one of the brothers.

Nazik was biting into his opponent's arm and pinning him to the ground. The other one didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight. He simply screamed and writhed. I was about to raise my sword to cleave the other's head from his shoulders when I was abruptly thrown into the trunk of a tree twenty yards away. I screamed in pain and surprise, my body crunching against the bark. My armor protected me from whatever had hit me, but it couldn't do much against the blunt force.

_Natalie!_ I almost heard my name screamed in my head. Through the pain, I looked up to see three Endermen wrestling in the trees, brutally throwing punched and tearing each other apart. I rushed back over, trying my best to be quick compared to them and trying to climb back up to them.

There was blood everywhere. I had cut into the brothers, but neither one seemed to notice I was even hurting them. They never attempted to attack, until I cut one of their legs off at the knee. His scream of agony was like nothing I'd ever heard. That was when his eyes finally turned to face me, revealing a burning green glare. Something crept into my mind…I could feel its unwelcome presence.

_You are going to regret ever being in the presence of my kind, Crafter._ The words were blazing green in my head. Something made me think that this one was Uhde.

"You're no match for Nazik, especially now that you're bleeding out." I threatened, staring down the blade of my sword. He hissed.

_Yes, but you are still one for me. _I gasped in horror. He reached out for me, almost snatching me in his hands. I defended myself, swinging my sword and cutting into his wrists, trying to stand my ground.

_Natalie, run! Please!_ Nazik screamed to me. I tried run into some place that Uhde couldn't reach me, but nothing seemed to stop him. Uhde kept after me even as he grew weaker from blood loss. Then, as I hid behind one of the massive trees, I remembered one of my main weapons. As I reached into my bag, I was suddenly grabbed by my free arm. I clutched a bottle in my hand and tried to pop the top between my fingers.

_I will enjoy eating you, even if I will die soon after._ His words burned in my head. The cork popped out. I grinned a little.

"You can't eat what you can't see." I threw the bottle forward and splashed the full contents of water onto his face, most of it ending up at the intended target of eyes. He flung his arms aimlessly, screaming in anguish and back handing me into a set of vines. I felt my ribs break, a few of them at least. I couldn't catch my breath, my body hurting from stress. Uhde fell to the ground, shrieking. I picked up my blade, groaning in my own pain. He leaned over on his hands and knees, a black mix of blood and water dripping from his face. With an angry grunt, I rose my sword high and plunged it deep into his the top of his back. I hoped to have separated the vertebrae of his spine. Either way, he fell to the ground quietly and quickly. He didn't breathe, flinch, or twitch. He just seemed to die. When I was sure he wouldn't get back up, I followed the sound of screeches back to Nazik and Itaugh. As I climbed a set of vines, I found them fighting in a clearing. Unfortunately, I was almost too scared to make a noise. Nazik wasn't winning anymore.

His body was so harshly beaten and torn so badly, I could see the glowing of his heart through what was left of the skin on his chest. Blood dripped off his hands, large bite wounds torn into every muscle of his arms. His face had been scratched almost to make him completely unrecognizable. I could barely stand to see him this way. This was it. This was how he would die.

I ran up to them, fighting back tears, and screamed with fury. I drove my sword into Itaughs's back when he was distracted and ripped it out from the side. His entrails spilled out in front of Nazik, who weakly glared at his opponent. Itaugh slowly fell to his knees, dead before he fell flat to the ground. Nazik pushed him over and pulled the pearl from his chest. I looked up at him, waiting for him to crush it, but he never did. The orb fell from his hand, falling to the leaves. He collapsed, his breath harsh and short.

"Nazik!" I cried, trying to help and hold him up.

_Natalie._ The words were so dim. Blood dripped from his mouth, dripping onto my arms. He looked down at me. The absence I saw in his eyes sent an icicle through my heart. Then, our surroundings changed. I shook the fogginess from my eyes, hearing a strange noise. _Kill the insects._ He said. I looked around, my first sight being a spawning crate. Spawning crates, Ancient Crafters gift to the monsters. This one had silverfish, rare, evil little creatures. I rushed toward the crate, pulling out Rea's pickaxe. They bit and scurried around me as I viciously beat the crate. It burst, the box losing all power. I squashed the remaining silverfish and cringed in pain as the bites stung along with the rest of bruises and shattered bones in me. I shuffled back over to Nazik, his body laying against the stone.

"Nazik, please get up." I muttered, tears starting to fall. He shakily looked up, his eyes barely glowing at all. I put my hands against the sides of his face. "Please…get up…" I whimpered, crying into his cheek.

_Do not cry._ He said. My eyes met gaze, finding a weak smile. Blood still bubbled from his lips. _You helped me. Thank you._ He said, weakly raising his arm and wrapping it around me. I started crying harder.

"But…y-you're dying. I couldn't save you." I sobbed, my hands trembling as I held his head.

_You still can._ He said. I wiped my eyes, whimpering. I couldn't ask past my trembling voice. His hand lightly touched his chest, the pearl still glowing through. _I can come back. Just take my heart home. _The words wavered weakly.

"What if I can't?" I whispered. Weakly, his thumb wiped against my cheek.

_You can. I believe in you._ He said. He still smiled, holding me gently. He chirped quietly, taking in a breath. _I love you, Natalie. _The words were there for only a moment, a moment that burned deeply into the darkness of my mind. Then, I heard him let out his breath and his hand fell to the floor.

"Nazik? Nazik!" I cried his name several times over, shaking his shoulder roughly. I couldn't let him go. I couldn't accept it. I pleaded with his dead body more and more to get up, until finally I cried out in shear agony and sobbed over him. In a pool of his blood, I wept in the lava light, my cries and shrieks echoing off the stone. I held his head against my chest, feeling the heat slowly leave him.

After what felt like an eternity, I opened my swollen eyes, peering into the darkness of the halls. Shadows and silhouettes slowly moved in the dimly lit corridors. A corpse, suddenly, gimped into the hall I was staring down, jolting me into alertness. I was afraid it would notice me, rush down, and devour us both. Slowly, it's glaring eyes moved away, groaning down another path. I didn't want to waste any more time, lose any more chances of escape. Slowly and gently, I slid Nazik's head from my lap and looked to the oozing gash the tore through his chest. Hesitantly, I slid my fingers on either side of the pearl, wincing as I felt his flesh separate from it. It was unnervingly easy to take the pearl from his chest…almost like it was meant to be torn out. I held the orb, the orb bring much bigger than my hand. I turned it in my hands, finding no imperfections and finding a comforting warmth emanating from it. It was his warmth. It was the same comfort I felt when he touched me, when he held me, when he kissed me. I tenderly held his heart in my arms, as close to my heart as I could get it.

"You believe in me, Nazik. You said it before you left. I can still feel it. You're still here. You still believe in me." I trembled, trying desperately not to start bawling again. A tear slipped and splashed into the perfect surface of the pearl. "I won't let you down."

I dug out of the portal room, taking my time and resting as the stone and dirt crumbled around me. After hours of grueling, tiring swinging of the pickaxe, sunlight peeked through the shifting soil. Fresh air, warm sun, and smells of greenery surrounded me, but…I still felt empty. Taking in my surroundings, I found that I was still in the jungle. Not only was I in the jungle, I was in the exact spot Itaugh had collapsed and died. What surprised me most, though, was that his body was gone. What was left was the pearl nestled in a collection of vines. Picking it up, I became angry. I wanted to smash it out of rage, but thought better of it. 'Not now…you could use this…'

I retrieved Udhe's pearl, separating them in my bag to tell them apart, and carried Nazik's in my hands as I continued to find my way back out of the jungle. I used my map, seeing two other marks in the jungle with me. I heard voices calling my name. I watched the markers turn around and around, searching for me. We found each other in matter of moments. There was no cheerful reunion. There weren't even smiles. Sammy and Kuje's first sight of me was the horror of my blood and dirt covered body. I knew they would recognize most of the blood as being Enderman in origin.

"Dear lord, Natalie, what happened?! Where's Nazik?" There words mixed into one statement as they frantically tried to figure me out. I explained it all to them. The brothers we had been fearful of had appeared. We had fought them off, and they were gone, but so was Nazik. I showed them the pearl; Nazik's pearl. Sammy's face dropped further and she grew teary eyed.

"Oh, sweetie…" She muttered, opening her arms. As she embraced me, the tears started again. We made our way home as quickly as possible, traveling through the night. We avoided any monster contact and traveled as quietly as physically possible. The villagers looked on us with shock and misplaced joy as they witnessed our return. I'm sure it was not in the condition they had expected. I had asked Sammy why we'd come back. We were supposed to keep going to the Sanctuary, we had a destination. She never answered. She simply looked at me pathetically and shook her head.

I wallowed in the warm bath water for hours. The water was blackened by blood, but I had yet to care about anything. Not one bit. My mind refused to work. I could feel myself staring off into the non-existent space of nothing, but I couldn't figure out if I was actually thinking of anything. Even as I stepped out of a bath of fresh, clean water, nothing seemed to go on.

Every night, even as I slept with Nazik's heart in my hands, there were terrible nightmares. Vicious, graphic nightmares that relived his death and the battle between us and Rataugh's brothers. I couldn't handle the screams of pain and anger and I started losing the ability to sleep.

It seemed like several moon cycles had passed, truly only being a week, until I let the pearl simply sit on my pillow. I left it for a short time to search for more information.

"What do you expect to find here?" Kuje asked me, following me into the librarian's home.

"How to open the End portal." I said flatly, thanking the librarian for letting me in. He led me to the back where he said he kept his oldest books. I felt I was going to find something of worth here because he admitted that some of the books were written in a language he couldn't read. He kept them only for collecting value.

"If the book was here, don't you think someone would've found it and opened the portal by now?" He retorted. I could feel him watching me with concerned eyes, but I felt his presence wasn't necessary. I couldn't tell him to go home, though. He and Sammy were worried about me, especially my mental health. I was the least I could to let him accompany when I wasn't home.

"Do you see a villager traveling to a complex labyrinth structure full of the undead and hostile to open a portal to a world that be considered a death sentence to anyone sane? I don't think so, Kuje." I hissed through my teeth, glaring fire into him. He shirked back a bit, cringing. I regretted my action after seeing his submissive stare. "No…I guess not." He replied quietly. I could feel the guilt rise into my chest as I turned away from him.

"I'm sorry…" I said gently, keeping my face pointed into the book I had taken from the shelf.

"It's okay, Natalie. I know you didn't mean it." He muttered back, showing an unnecessary amount of pity. I cringed at the guilt and actually began to read the text.

I read more and more of the books. All of them were in the ancient calligraphy, none of which the villagers could've possibly read. The words…they all reminded me of him. He spoke in this writing…I couldn't stop seeing it in my head. From the fog of a trance, I caught a word that brought from my sorrow. In the tenth book I had opened, at the very top in big print was the word 'Ender' scrolled boldly. In smaller type, the page spoke of ways to another world, only three of which were known to Crafters, and two of them were ones we could make doorways to. There was the portal of obsidian to the hell-world of the Nether. Then there was the one I needed to know about; the contraption-portal of The End.

The keys to the portal were called the Eyes of Ender, just as I had learned from Nazik and the other old Crafter book. This, however, was the only book I had found with a recipe for them in it. When I looked as the number of ingredients, I thought it'd be easy to accomplish. Then, I actually saw what the ingredients were.

"Found anything?" Kuje asked beside me, carefully leaning over to gaze over the book in my hands. I sighed, nodded, and scowled a little.

"Yes. I found how to make the Eyes of Ender." I said low. He became excited.

"Really? Let me see." He said eagerly, gently leaning over my shoulder. He read the ingredients aloud, his excitement dying away. "Ender pearls and…blaze powder…" I gently closed the book and gazed over to him. "We have to go the Nether?!" He exclaimed. I slowly nodded and started out of the librarian's house, sliding him a couple emeralds for his trouble. "Do you know how dangerous that place is?" He started chattering on about the stories he'd heard of the Nether, how people didn't return and the monsters there were creatures of damned origins. I gritted my teeth and tried not to turn around and snap at him.  
>"Kuje, I've been there before. I am completely aware of the danger and I am prepared to go again," I said firmly and calmly. His mouth closed with a less than satisfied grumble.<p>

"Well…I want to go, too." He muttered. Something in me shifted, making me want to smile at his statement. It wasn't a happy smile, or even a meaningful smile. It was a foreboding, emotionless warning.

"Even your visions cannot prepare you for the hell that we are going to have to go through." I muttered deeply, seeming to get my intended point across. I could see the fear grow in his eyes and it was that stayed with him when we collected supplies for the trek and the portal itself. The obsidian was collected in a matter of hours, only taking so long because of the depths we had to go through to get it. Sammy and Kuje watched me with the same concerned and watchful gaze they had given me for a week and half. I was unsure if I was truly as messed up and unstable as their reactions had led me to believe, but my lack of emotion had been replaced by an outstanding boost in motivation. The portal was made just outside of the village and stood gaping for us to walk through. I closed my eyes and took in a couple breaths while also listening to the portal's hiss. I always imagined that the portal was possessed in some way, the hiss being the voices of the souls that had been lost to the place.

We walked into the purple vortex and were met with a hall of flaky, red stone. It was hot, it was quiet, and where there wasn't fire, there were monsters. I had brought Rea's heat resistance potions to protect us from the fire on the ground, the sea of fire that spread beneath us, and the fire the monsters spat at us.

I drug my pickaxe to leave a trail for us to follow, but it was still a long journey into the Nether to even find the fortress. As we his in coves of netherack to hide from the ghasts above, I glanced to my two-person party to check on them. Sammy looked still as determined as ever, having been on a Nether adventure with me a couple times before. Kuje, however, looked mortified and exhausted already. He hadn't expected this at all. His brave talk had done nothing to prepare him.

We dropped into the dark brick halls of the nether fortress, scoping out the hall for danger. We ran at a blistering pace to try and find the creature we needed. The nether fortress spanned across hundreds and hundreds of yards over the seas of fire, many of the pathways broken and shattered into dead end drops. Navigating through it was the worst part; twisting corners and descents down stairs leading us down empty and even longer halls. It took several times of bringing Kuje back to his feet to get to the underground hall, but at one more left turn, we found the monster we preyed on.

Blazes were one of the strangest creatures I had ever experienced in my time. We had hypothesized that they had been built by some precursor beings, left behind to be the protectors of the Nether, or they were simply cast there as failed constructs. What was truly certain, though, was that their fire burned hotter than lava. Their molten heads could produce spontaneous fire that, unless properly protected against, could burn a man down in seconds. Luck for us, all we had to do was be careful of touching the orbiting bars of its body and we could destroy them quickly and easily. I wasn't afraid of them. I needed their resources and I had no problem taking what I needed from them.

After collecting the half dozen blaze rods, we escaped the spawning crate from the top of the stairs, and rested in the deep abandoned halls we had previously been in. The halls echoed almost like we were in a torture chamber. Moans and screaming echoed from the ghasts outside, terrifying us all, especially me. I didn't let on to it, though. I had become a determined, violent machine, but I managed to even block out the violence. It was so easy to kill anything now. No remorse, no care, no worries. Nothing bled in this damned place. I had no evidence of my travesties. I stood up and quickly motioned for my party to follow. I rushed through the halls, following the trail I had dug in the stone. I hid the pain and exhaustion I felt and kept running. They struggled to keep up, calling for me to wait. I slowed only a little, caring enough to not leave my friends behind. Through the onslaught of fireballs and potential smashing from magma cubes, we made it back into the narrow hall that held the Nether portal home.

We had been in the Nether for a full day by the time we had made it back into the Overworld. We relaxed in the cool air of the early morning beach air. I only paused for a moment, before setting out back to the house. I went back on my own, letting them relax and enjoy being alive. I wished I had noticed before we had come home, though, that the potions hadn't lasted the full cycle. My arms were singed and burned and only when I set the blaze rods on the table in my room did I realize how much pain I was in. I bent to the pain, collapsing to my knees and wincing. It didn't take long to wrap up and fix my burns, but it still hurt. But I had to convince myself that this pain was necessary. It was for a noble cause. I was doing this for Nazik.

I took Uhde's pearl and placed it on the crafting table along with the freshly crushed blaze rod powder. The nine-part grid took the items and, in the blink of an eye, changed them into one item. I now possessed an Eye of Ender. I carefully took it in hand and looked it over. It was bigger than an Enderpearl and felt almost…alive. I looked into the eye itself, feeling lost in it. There was a void inside that seemed to draw me in. Hesitantly, I looked away. I need eight more eyes to open the portal and I needed them as soon as possible.

Reaching for Itaugh's pearl, I felt the anger boil within me again. I still wanted to smash it, but this time it was because of my morbid curiosity. I wanted to know what he knew. I took the pearl and raised it over my head. Quickly, I brought it down and smashed it against the edge of my shelf, saving my knee from gaining another similar bruise. I felt the haze swim around my head for a moment, then the world reappeared.

Itaugh was as Nazik had said: young, reckless, and unskilled. Unfortunately, none of us could have predicted his whole life. He was violent, far more than Rataugh had been. He spent a lot more of his life in The End, sparring and fighting with other Endermen to prove his dominance. He, Uhde, and Rataugh were conspirers, constantly listening into every little tid-bit of information that came back from the Overworld on the mouths of the other Endermen.

News had traveled from one another about a territory squabble in a village of villager-women. No one knew the name of the victor, but they knew the loser was no more anyway. Rataugh had admitted to Itaugh that she was interested in finding out what the Overworld was like since so many of their kind had gone and seen it.

"No," Itaugh had said, "too many of our kind have not come back from the world and should not be of any interest of ours." He knew, however, that Rataugh wouldn't listen; she never did.

When she hadn't returned soon after she had left, rumors started spreading that Crafters had killed her like so many others had. Then, another rumor started spreading. It was suspected that an Enderman had killed her to protect a Crafter. Itaugh and Uhde became enraged by the false allegations, not once believing that any of their own kind would side with a Crafter and forcing more information out of anyone who had returned from the Overworld. Soon, they had gained enough to know where to start looked and they had the names of their targets.

In the darkness of a ravine, they listened and waited beneath a sandstone ceiling. They could hear footsteps through the sand, unsure if they were from more than just the villagers. Then, they both heard the sound of a traveling Enderman, the sound completely unmistakable.

"Do you think it's him?" Uhde muttered, looking almost like he was looking through the sand. Itaugh growled, rolling a stone in his giant hands.

"I have no doubt. He is above is in the presence of villagers. Not all of those footsteps belong to villagers, I'm sure." He said. Uhde seemed to get excited at his brother's hostility. He grabbed a handful of the sandstone, sinking his claws in, ready to take it and release the sand above.

"You want to sink the village? I would love to see how many drown in the sand!" He exclaimed, taking the handful out. Itaugh turned away, teleporting to the ravine floor.

"No. We kill them ourselves. We need them secluded." He said, Uhde reluctantly following. "They travel frequently. Wherever they end up tomorrow…that is where we take our revenge."

They day passed quickly for them. They bade their time, following far behind the small pack of Crafters and the traitor companion. Itaugh remembered Nazik from Nazik's short time in The End. He knew Nazik was older – much older actually – than he led on. Itaugh knew him, but never liked him. Now, he would have no trouble killing him.

They had to wait one more night, the pack stopping to rest in an alcove in a mountain side. The brothers stayed on the top of the mountain, sitting on the ledge right below the pack.

"We could get them now. The other two Crafters are asleep. They're vulnerable! It would be easy!" Uhde hissed. Itaugh sternly looked over the ridge's edge, restraining his temper.

"No." He said simply and deeply. Uhde growled, standing and slowly pacing behind his brother.

"What is with you? Any other time, you would have gladly taken them apart without a second thought with a chance like this. You don't think, Itaugh. Why are you thinking now?" He asked, his green eyes blazing bright. Itaugh let the insult slide, which clearly made Uhde even more concerned, and stood up.

"You and I, we've been reborn dozens of times out of our own idiotic squabbles, fights, and problems with others over territory or the simple bragging rights. Endermen were taught never taught to break a cycle unless there was an immense amount of dishonor earned by an opponent. That is why we are still alive. Our honor was never in question when we were put back into the void. There was most likely nothing dishonorable about what our sister did. She did not deserve to be forever unborn." Itaugh growled his explanation. Uhde stayed silent, looking thoughtfully at his brother and agreeing with him, but being no less concerned about him.

Another day passed and Itaugh could feel that this one would be the day. Either he would stand victorious over his sister's murderer and take away the traitor's gift of rebirth by shattering his heart into a million tiny shards, or he would die trying. Itaugh and Uhde watched as the pack of Crafters went into the jungle, a sly grin spreading over Itaugh's face.

"Perfect," He purred, teleporting across the field in front of them. As he perched high above, he realized the group had unintentionally split up, just as he had hoped. The only problem he sensed was Nazik. If he could sense him, Nazik could sense him, too. Before Itaugh could detest, he heard Uhde teleporting ahead, striking Nazik first.

Itaugh watched for a moment, letting Uhde's impatience be punished. Uhde clearly wasn't a fighter. He had been pinned by his elder far too quickly. He writhed and screamed insults about how much of a bastard Nazik was for killing their sister, but the insults didn't stop Nazik from almost biting Uhde's arm off. Itaugh believed enough punishment had been dealt and it was his turn to step in.

He threw the Crafter female away from the fight, saving her for later. Nazik stood over Uhde for a moment, not noticing me for a moment. I tackled him to the ground, taking the entire back of his neck in my fangs. He fell, crying out in shock mostly, and suddenly picked me off and threw me.

We were relentless. Attack after attack, we kept him busy. I had to admit, though…if it had just been me…Nazik would have ended me in one fell swoop. With Uhde by my side, though, I was gaining the upper hand with him using my brother as his main target and he was losing too much energy to keep up with us both.

The Crafter tried her best to intervene, to help her Enderman partner, aimlessly cutting us with her sword, but she was too frightened to do any real damage to me. Uhde on the other hand…I could see even through Nazik's quick strikes that Uhde's leg had looked to simply have fallen off. His scream of pain was ungodly; loud and high pitched. I couldn't imagine the pain he'd just felt. He left me with, Nazik, going after the Crafter girl.

The Enderman hissed at me, blood dripping down over his eye.

"I knew you were coming." He said simply. I could see his fingers twitching, itching to bury themselves in my flesh. I couldn't resist the urge to taunt him, maybe to bring him off guard.

"If you knew we were coming, why are you still falling to our strength as if you were unprepared?" I said, cracking my knuckles. His old maturity started spilling out of him, suddenly, like he was trying to be better than me.

"You won't win, Itaugh. You'll fall just like your sister. You will fall just like her because you are weak – just like her." He hissed, a smirk crossing his face. The rage in me boiled over. I lashed out, tackling him to the ground. He insulted her, my only sister. She was never coming back and he was going to call her weak?! Then, I had realized what he'd done, but I realized it too late.

In my adrenaline fueled rage, I didn't feel the tearing of tendons in my shoulder, or the loss of several of my teeth. Nazik's taunt had left me blind and unguarded, but I still could only do my best. He was getting weaker and weaker. I could almost taste his defeat.

Then a strange sensation hit me. I couldn't tell if it was pain or a simple feeling of release that I had never felt before. I looked down to find a Crafter's bright blue blade pointing straight out of my belly. Then, it tore through me. I could see my organs, almost all of them, fall out of me and scatter themselves across the ground. I looked back up to Nazik. With the last strength I could muster, I hissed one last word.

"Traitor." I screamed in anger, throwing my arms out and sweeping everything off of the shelf in front of me. It crashed to the floor, bottles shattering and books falling open. Then, I suddenly realized this newfound anger was not mine. It coursed through me like it was truly born in me, but I started to realize that the anger was Itaugh's. His memories had influenced me; I had been him.

There was a soft knock on my door.

"Natalie, are you okay?" Sammy's voice came through. Her question was one I had been asking myself ever since the day Nazik died. I opened the door and waved her in. I wanted to show her that our adventures had been useful and worthwhile. I showed her the Eye of Ender I had made, letting her hold it. She ran her fingers over it in slight awe. "So this is the key, or at least one of the keys, to get into The End?" She asked. I promptly nodded. "How many do we need?"

"Eight. I broke the other one I'd gotten," I said. She looked shocked.

"Why?" She exclaimed, seeming almost horrified that I had destroyed something so…precious looking. I took the time, then, to explain the nature of the Enderpearls to her; the reincarnation, the memory storage, and why I still held Nazik's heart so preciously. She, now, knew why we were going to reopen the End Portal. She also knew that I had two full memories of Enderperson life in my head. If I went crazy, there was another reason; it wasn't all me. She placed the Eye gently on the shelf.

"You should've told me why we were going to Nether. I'm not mad, I promise, but the Nether was completely dangerous. Kuje and I have a couple burns. Without those potions, though, I have to admit we wouldn't have made it, but unfortunately, Kuje's saying he may have some anxiety problems for a while." She explained to me. I nodded. I showed her my burns, knowing it was stupid of me to have been so reckless. I apologized.

"I know there's a lot I've left out, but there's another reckless task I'm going to have to ask you guys to be a part of and I know I can't do it without you." I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I know what you're leading onto, and if I play my cards right I can get Kuje to help us." She said, surprising me entirely.

"You do? You're okay with it?" I asked. She grinned and let out a small snort.

"Natalie, I know Nazik meant a lot to you. Whatever I can do to help get him back, we'll try and do for you. Even if that means we have to look for those tall lanky creatures that may or may not have been haunting my nightmares." She said, her lips keeping a perky smile. I suddenly felt a similar smile touch my lips. It was the first time in a month that I had felt any sort of expression of content. My friends…they would help me with whatever I needed. I had companions again. It felt…good. "I have a question, though." She said.

"Shoot."

"How are we going to go about finding these Enderpeople? Killing them is only, like, step two." She said, a disquieted demeanor taking her over.

"I think this is where we redo our adventure, our journey. We can head to the Sanctuary again and on our way we can find out targets and get what we need." I said, hoping she was okay with traveling again. She seemed very excited, much to my chronic surprise.

"That sounds perfect. Not meaning to be insensitive or anything, but ever since the day we came home I've been anxious to go back and try again. I really want to know what's up there." She said. I agreed with her wholeheartedly. Though my grief had weighed me down tremendously, I was still as curious as ever. There was still hope that there was something useful there.

"Alright. We set out tomorrow. Most of our stuff's still packed, we just need more food." I said. We both smiled and nodded in determined confirmation.

"I'll have Kuje convinced to go by morning. He can't say no to me." Sammy said, her face showing her usual deviation. Oh, I was sure why and how. She didn't have to say a word.

"Well, have fun convincing him. I'm going to start hunting tonight. I'm not that tired." I said, standing up. She let out a snort, shaking her head.

"Don't die before we can try again. We've already done enough grieving, okay?" She said, taking her leave of the room. I shook my head and hefted my armor on.

A cold night…a quiet one, too. I brushed my blood-crusted hands against my pants, aimlessly and ineffectively trying to get some of it off. I found it easier to kill Endermen when I wasn't completely terrified of them. I had already bagged two and the night was almost at an end. There were bags under my eyes, but from my rock perch, I could see it all and with this advantage I didn't need to sleep.

I told myself this would be the last one so I could get some rest before hiking again. The Enderman slowly walked past a pond, seeming to be completely oblivious to where he was. I saw him clutching a large handful of sand, dropping it onto a dirt patch far from where he had found the sand. 'Rearranging the world according to our personal preference.' I rushed down to the Enderman's legs. I huddled close, but made sure not to touch him. He seemed unaware to my existence as well.

Clutching the sword tightly, I glanced up once, careful to avoid his eyes, and swung harshly at his knees. Swiping the sword across both limbs, I heard the definitive sounds of ligaments being severed and joints separating. He screeched loudly, collapsing onto the stumps of his legs. He lunged at me, only grazing my armor. Almost like I had rehearsed it a million times, I lunged forward and shoved my blue blade deep into his body, careful to avoid the center cavity in his chest and ripped the sword out to disembowel him. Blood splattered everywhere, coating me in a fresh layer. I quickly took the pearl from his chest, still finding it unsettling how the flesh tore away so easily. As the sun started to rise, I made my way back to the house.

I tried to hurry, not wanting to confront any villagers. Blood always rose horrified question and they were never fun to deal with. Unfortunately, just before I could come up to the spruce house, a voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Hey, Natalie." A small voice from behind me called. I looked back and found the little friend I had come to admire. Jes stood beside his father's store, still rubbing sleep from his big eyes. I didn't know whether to escape the curious child's call or actually acknowledge him. Taking in how I looked, I could only imagine why he would want to talk to me now.

"G-good morning, Jes. It's a little early, huh?" I said with an awkward smirk. He looked at me drowsily and nodded a couple times.

"Yeah, it is. I just wanted to ask you a question since I saw you leave this morning." He said looking down the path I had just come from. The small villager had watched me leave. I started wondering if he was always keeping an eye on me or if more coincidences had gone against my favor.

"Yeah?" I prompted. He looked at me with a quizzing gaze, one that seemed a little too serious for a child like him.

"Where's Nazik?" He asked. His words seemed heavier than all of the words about my Enderman companion anyone else had said. I'm sure he hadn't meant it so, but his question felt accusing, almost convicting. There was no way he could've known what had happened to us, that it was partially my fault he had met the fate he had. What Jes, also, couldn't have known was I was trying to fix my mistake, correct the wrong I felt that I solely had committed.

"Nazik's not here anymore, Jes." I said calmly, but darkly. I could see the brightness fall away from the poor boy's eyes, but his facial expression never changed. "But hopefully he'll come back. I hope he'll be able to come see you again. Can you hope for him? He needs all the happy thoughts we can send to him." I insisted. I felt as though I was trying to dodge the true nature of the situation too much, that I could've been deceiving Jes. Fortunately, all the small villager did was nod with a warm and sincere smile. Then, the child walked into his father's shop without another word. I stood on the gravel path for a moment, simply wondering. I was unsure what he could've assumed about what had happened to his strange friend. Maybe he could figure it out, maybe he didn't have to. I walked into the dark wooded house and shook the thoughts away.

After taking a quick rinsing shower, I laid out the three enderpearls on the shelf and started digging out the blaze powder. A knock at the door suddenly started me from my focused state. I called, 'come in,' and Kuje stepped in, tired eyed.

"Hey. Sammy wanted me to check on if you'd fallen asleep or not. I'm thinking…no." He muttered as he watched me combine the powder and the pearls. I chuckled a little and shook my head.

"No, I haven't. I've been hunting." I said. Kuje stepped closer and he saw the two enderpearls and the new Eye of Ender. He jolted a little, his drowsiness seemingly shocked away.

"In one night, you got that many?" He asked. I nodded. "And Sammy was worried we wouldn't get enough on the trip." He said, a grin of approval touching his mouth.

"So you are going?" I asked for unneeded clarity. It was Kuje's turn to nod.

"Of course. Like I'd let you girls have all the fun. I originally thought it'd be crazy, but I've been curious about that sanctuary myself. My dreams have faintly touched the Sanctuary, but every time I'm about to see the full picture, it turns away. Rather unsatisfying if you ask me." He muttered, a twisted frown crossing his face. My curiosity was peaked again.

"Have you seen anything out of the ordinary in your visions?" I asked. He thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"Not really. There's a corpse guarding the door for some reason, but it's only a mere zombie." He replied. He and I seemed to think the same thing and pay no mind to it. A zombie was no problem.

"Are you two ready to head out already?" I asked as I created the other two Eyes.

"Yeah, we've still got our stuff from last time. Are you ready?" He asked me. Stowing the Eyes away safely, I nodded.

"I just need to check if any of the diamond scales have fallen off my armor. Other than that, I should be able to go." I said with an affirming smile. He smiled in response and left.

Things moved smoothly and rather quickly from then on. We crossed more of the ridge in less time. We powered through the jungle, passing the opening I had made to dig out of the stronghold. My mind raced for a moment, scaring me and stopping my heart for an instant. I saw the pool of blood once again and the blood on my hands. Shaking my head violently of the memory, I saw the sands of the desert ahead of us. It was weird to think of the sands as clean, but they actually looked almost white. Clean, white hot desert sands. There was nothing in the short expanse of desert. Barely a cactus spotted the perfect surface. It only sloped down into the green valley, right at the foot of the tall mountain we were looking for. I could see the floating paths Kuje had been talking about, but there was something about them that left me perturbed. From this distance, it looked as though the paths were already connected. I didn't know if they were connected in the first place or if Nazik had simply not traveled by foot around the mountain, but I only figured it looked that way because of the distance.

We set up camp one more time, but we were almost too excited to sleep.

"What do you think is actually up there?" Sammy asked, picking meat from her teeth. Kuje shrugged, his hopes trying to stay moderately out of the Aether.

"Honestly, there may be a weapon or two, but I'm betting on it more likely being a collection of books. Not that I'm not excited by that or anything. It's just that I don't think there's a whole hell of a lot that could help us in The End." He said pulling a pearl from his bad and admiring it. Through it had seemed uneventful, we had actually found more Endermen. There was another female, but she was just as nasty and vicious as Rataugh. Unfortunately, though, I really had a conscience problem when I killed them now. I hadn't thought about it much before, but I remembered them like I was killing someone I knew, like Rataugh and Itaugh were judging me.

We had three more pearls and we had gotten them relatively in the same time frame. Now, there wasn't a single Enderman to be seen. For hours, not a single one appeared or strolled around. I didn't know if it was coincidental or if there was actually something behind it. I didn't think there was.

"So, if the Sanctuary turns out to be a bust, we can at least save Nazik we get one more pearl." Sammy said. I nodded, feeling a little anxious with his pearl with me. It always made me feel warmer, safer. I knew, though, that it was safest to leave him and the Eyes in my room. We'd be reunited again, by more ways than one.

"I just hope we can get another pearl," Kuje said, looking out over the mountain range, "I haven't seen a hint of a purple particle since yesterday."

"I haven't either," I agreed, "I thought it was just me." We muttered to each other, thinking along the same lines. The situation between us and the two brothers had made us really jumpy. Endermen, though we'd killed several, were still tricky. We'd lost a couple when we'd tried to attack them before, but we found out that hitting them and immobilizing them at the legs was enough to make them stop teleporting immediately. It was something I had kind of realized while fighting Uhde. As we Crafters did, they kind of needed their legs to do anything.

"Well, we just need to keep an eye out. We can't get separated." Sammy said. We nodded together and almost simultaneously yawned. Setting up our shelters in the grass, rain started to softly fall.

"Goodnight, guys." I called as I put up my door. They both called back, closing their own and turning out their light. I hesitated a moment before extinguishing my torch and laying my head on my pillow. I listened to the rain, feeling a great amount of peace and tranquility in its soft melody. It reminded me of Nazik, unfortunately, but I figured at this point that everything would. This memory, though, made me happy. I felt the warmth of his embrace and I smelled the wet grass as we lay out under the tree. I snuggled tightly into the pillow, falling gently to sleep.

_The ancients knew we were coming. They anticipated our arrival. They saw me, but no others. I was labeled a deserter. The cast me aside like all the others. Apparently, I wasn't worthy without you guys. I'm just sorry you had to see me this way and that it had to end like this._

_ "No…no! It's not him! It can't be!"_

_ "It's not him! He'd never attack us! Fight back, Sammy!"_

_ "Sammy, please help! Aaaahhh!"_

_ "Kuje!"_

_ "Sammy!"_

_ "It's not him…Oh, Tommy, stop…please…"_

_ It's my fault. I gave up on you all. I lost touch with reality. You don't deserve this. Please, don't cast them aside, too. No friend of mine deserves this. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please stop screaming. No more blood, no more tears. It's unfair…it's so unfair! Stop this!_

I jolted up as thunder crashed overhead, my body feeling as cold as ice. Sweat drenched my palms and back. My breath felt like it'd been held for hours, trying to escape. The thunder had saved me from the nightmare, but it hadn't spared me the memories. I had no images in my head except for the bleeding words that spoke to me without a voice. Was it a vision? I truly was scared of the truth behind the dream. The one friend I was missing…was there a reason he hadn't come back? Had he made it to the Sanctuary only to be denied because of his lack of accompaniment? What possible reason would he need us for? Shakily, I rose out of bed and tried to get dressed and decent before tearing down my shelter.

The rain was hard, much harder than the quiet and melodic rain that I had fallen asleep to. Kuje and Sammy hadn't seemed to be awake yet. I figured it was about time, the sun completely hidden behind the dense clouds. I knocked on their door, being left outside a little longer than I would have liked. Kuje answered, half dressed with a pair of new pants on.

"H-hey…what's up?" He muttered. I told him that I had a vision of my own, which quickly made him snap to. I woke Sammy up, which seemed to anger her at first, but as I explained that I had a dream-like vision and started to explain the vision, she sank a little against the pillows. The mentioning of Thomas seemed to crush any aggression she had.

"Thomas…the last of your companion group?" Kuje asked. We both nodded.

"He disappeared after allegedly going mad over text books in the villages we stayed in. He seemed so wrapped up in Crafter prophecies that he seemed to believe them all. He also assumed we were a part of one." She explained, making me jolt in my own surprise. She'd never told me that. I'd missed too damned much.

"What was the prophecy he though we were a part of?" I asked. She shrugged, getting dressed.

"No idea. He'd refused to tell me. He just kept quiet about everything until, one day, he simply disappeared." She muttered sadly. I could see the devastation in her eyes. Either she blamed his insanity on herself or she felt bad for not looking for him. I didn't blame her. I still had an immense amount of guilt for abandoning them, and after learning that I had permanently lost three of them, there was no way I could forgive myself for not even saying goodbye.

"Well, let's not dwell on it. We've got an adventure that is yet to be completed." Kuje said sternly, quickly breaking the subject. I admired his confidence and bravery, to be able to either cheer us up or simply deter us. Either way, he was right. Also, if it was a vision, as I'd been calling it, then we could prove it right or wrong when we got there.

The shelter came down and we were out in the rain. We crossed path after path of floating land and I found that the paths actually were connected. Someone had patched them together with wooden boards. We kept our swords ready, watching as the monsters walked below us. None followed us, but I didn't like the odds of us falling over the edges if we took on wrong step.

Looking up the mountain, I saw a glimpse of the building. We got closer and I saw that the building was made just like any normal place. That I thought was strange, and then I remembered who we were dealing with; ancient Crafters. They seemed to have senses of humor – dark humor – and sometimes went to one extreme to the other when it came to their architecture.

We stood at the top of the mountain, rain dripping from our hair and our clothes were soaked completely through. The chill, however, was not from the rain. We started at the Sanctuary…not the building itself, but toward the building. In front of the door stood a human-esque figure. It clawed at the door and groaned profusely into the wooden surface. Every scratch it made, the door seemed to heal itself, showing no signs of damage. The blood, however, still stayed smeared and only dissipated as the rain washed it away. Its broken nails and fingertips bled horribly. A small _thumpf_ broke my horror for a moment. Sammy had dropped the tip of her sword in to the wet soil, whimpering for a moment.

"T-thank you for warning me, Natalie…thank you…" She muttered. The figure heard us, slowly turning to face us. I fought the sadness, fought the pain in my heart. Hollow, black eyes, dripping, gaping mouth, rotting flesh…it was him…he had found his way here.

"I'm so sorry, Thomas…" I whispered to the corpse. He hissed at his name, gimping forward. Before I had the chance, Sammy charged forward, screaming in anger. I watched in astonishment. She fought him, slashing and cutting into what was left of him. He was fast for an undead, but still couldn't block a sword from harming him. Slowly, she started chopping him down, his body falling apart. In my mind, I saw his face – his old face – smiling with us, holding Sammy tightly by the shoulder and pecking her cheek sweetly. We all laughed and smiled back then. I heard her crying harder with every slash, with every blow she dealt to Tommy's body. I couldn't help but start to cry into my hands as I watched it.

She stood over his remains with her sword through his dismembered head, crying in anguish against the rain. Kuje and I joined her side, placing a hand on her shoulders.

"I never thought," She sobbed, facing the sky, "This would happen…I hate them…I hate them!" She screamed. Kuje looked to me, asking the same question I was, but as we looked to each other, we understood. The ancient Crafters had done this. They had cursed us. We had watched everyone closest to us feel pain. Emotional, physical – it didn't matter. If Thomas had been truly onto something, the prophecies foretold by the ancient Crafters had been the reasoning for his peril. Nazik had been destined to die. Thomas had been destined to die. The entire companionship to fall apart. They were mad tormentors who had played as evil gods. As much as we wanted to hate them, there was nothing we could do about it. They were all dead, but they had known the future. It was just our jobs, now, to live it.

We hesitantly approached the Sanctuary. There was no handle or knob on the door and when we pushed against it, it didn't budge. We looked for any anomalies in the surfaces on the front, but nothing was there. Sammy sighed and placed her head on the stone next to the door, saying no more, but as she leaned against it, there was a soft click. We all hear it, even though the rain, and got closer to inspect it. When she pulled back, there was another click, sounding like a mechanism closing.

"Do that again," Kuje said, putting his hands on the door. She did as requested, pressing the stone and Kuje pushed the door. It budged slightly, but didn't open. He pushed again and let go. "There's another button." He said simply. I went to the opposite side of the door frame and put my hand exactly where Sammy's hand sat on her side. We both pushed and heard simultaneous clicks. Kuje pushed once more and the door opened. As Kuje stepped in, a fog seemed to lift from the switches, both of them now visible.

We stood in the small house, silence ringing in our ears. The sound of rain was almost completely shut out and our quiet investigation seemed to go on longer than expected. The room was simple, symmetrical, and well lit. Four beds, two on either side, sat next to small chests against the walls. We looked to each other and went to an individual bed and chest. I opened mine and suddenly felt intrigued.

Four books, a shiny apple, a single diamond, and a pen and quill sat at the bottom of the chest. I picked up the books first. One had a title written in the common phonetic Crafter language. It was called "The Completed Collection of Recipes of the Overworld." Skimming through the pages, the title seemed about accurate. From food to dyes, to every weapon and tool, it had it all. Setting the book aside, I picked up another.

This one didn't seem to have a title. If it had one, it had been lost long ago. Flipping to the first couple pages I found that it was written in the villager's language. It was simple and easy to understand, almost like the newer Crafter language, but just written a little differently. It was a diary. The villager never seemed to write his name anywhere in the book that I could see, but he spoke a lot of one Crafter; a friend of his named Steve. My brain recognized that name. 'Another interesting find…"

The next one was an old book. The pages felt thin and brittle and the spine creaked with age. This one was written in the ancient script, which was only written by the ancients. It seemed to speak of…everything. The entire Crafters' universe's creation, the stories they told long ago, and the creatures they fought and told of. The book was much bigger than it looked and was probably the best insight into the answers of the universe as a whole I could obtain. Gingerly, I placed the book beside me and went to the last one.

This one, I believe, was the most peculiar. There were hundreds of pages, but only around ten had been written on. It was weirdly written, the handwriting kind of sloppy. It was the ancient calligraphy, but whoever had written it had either terrible handwriting or was in a hurry when they wrote it. It was a message, and extremely long one. Only a couple of lines I could truly make out and understand. The rest of it was simply rambling.

_'The fiend turned good, he is…End. Gifts we bestow on you…room of glass. Take…saved life. Keys made and ready, but one. Yours…be. Your journey is over when…is the truly revived. Enjoy eternity. Crafter of unique prowess. The end is yours.'_

Out of all ten pages of written words, that was all that could be read. It was all jumbled, but at the mention of the glass room, I looked up. There were double-doors against the wall, extending the Sanctuary. Sammy and Kuje looked up at me, setting their new items down.

"What's in there?" Sammy asked.

"A gift," I replied quietly.

"A gift?" Kuje asked, "From whom?" I stood up, walked to the doors and opened them, cautiously stepping out onto the floor.

"The ancients," I answered in a whisper, keeping my eyes on the large chests at the end of the hall. The glass room had glass walls and a terrifyingly clear floor, but no light from the ceiling; completely made of stone. We slowly made our way to the end, the floor sounding like it was creaking and cracking. The panes stayed solid but sounded as though they were falling apart. I could see the rain falling around us, but I couldn't look down. Every time I did, my stomach lurched.

I rested my hands on the chest on my side, seeing Sammy doing the same on her side. We opened them at the same time and looked in. I smiled softly and reached for the first item I saw. In my hands rested the last piece I needed, the last Eye of Ender we needed. There was nothing else in the chest that was still valuable or even salvageable. It had all crumbled with age.

Looking to Sammy, I saw more valuables in her chest. Two chainmail suits of armor, two enchanted iron suits, and a couple of shiny apples. She looked over at me, seeing the Eye and held on of the apples close to her.

"They're the pieces for our adventure. They knew." She muttered softly. Our adventure was almost over. Those were fresh armaments. Was there something else in mind for her?

"What did they know for you?" I asked calmly, secretly hiding a dread of us separating again. She looked still distressed from before, but her eyes dropped, seeming to admit something she had yet to tell me.

"Kuje and I have been thinking…maybe it's time for our own life changing journey. When we get Nazik back, you won't need us anymore, so we figured it would be our turn to make our own story." She said. I felt confused for a moment as I looked her over. She looked conflicted, almost sad, explaining it to me. I was actually happy she wanted to go with Kuje wherever it was they wanted to go. Granted, I was slightly upset she didn't believe she had an important part in my life and on my journey here, but she deserved to feel accomplished on her own quest. This only made me realize how much she had changed. She wasn't the oblivious, horny, ditz I had met her as. She was strong, brave, and more importantly, independent. Kuje was along for the ride, supporting her in her endeavor, but maybe, on their journey, he could find his place with her or in the place he truly belonged. I smiled.

"That's great, Sammy." I said warmly. She looked at me and cocked her head.

"Wait…you're okay with it?" She asked.

"Of course I am. You're right. You need to create your own story. If you don't believe you have started already, it's been long since overdue for you to start. Mine started a while ago and, as hard as it is to admit, it didn't start with my companions. The group was a start to knowing with I wanted in life, but it didn't get me any closer to my goal. When I was by myself, I felt emptier, but there was so much room, I realized that I had made to grow into someone different."

"The female villagers gave me a mission, and I thought that was what I wanted; to be depended on. Then, I met Nazik. He proved that my curiosity was dangerous enough to get me hurt and, strangely enough, to do the unthinkable to get what I wanted, and that was when my true goal came into view. I wanted to learn through someone else's eyes. Nazik had a completely different mindset and memories with a way of living that a Crafter could never have. He was the perfect learning tool."

"Then, I fell in love with him. Before him, never in my wildest dreams would have I ever though it possible. He protected me, taught me, and he loved me. And now…" I stopped for a moment, seeing the admiration in both their eyes. I looked into my hands, looking into the Eye. "Now, I'm willing to die for him. Just as he did for me." I said. I turned my head up to face them again to see a teary smile from Sammy and a caring grin on Kuje's stubbled face.

"That's all I ever wanted. I wanted love and the ability to know I was strong enough to carry on on my own. You're right about the group, though. They held us back. They didn't deserve their ends, but that's the way the ancients saw to it. Fighting Thomas will be with me for a long time, but," She took Kuje's hand in hers and tenderly nuzzled him, "I have a reason to believe that there is a lot of good memories to help me cope with it." She said. I nodded and looked to Kuje. He looked to Sammy affectionately and they embraced. I missed those feelings. Nazik's arms were too big, and his entire body was too big, but his embraces warmed me and his kisses were sweet. That was all that mattered.

We decided to use the Sanctuary's beds for a night. The rain looked to die away, but we couldn't hear it either way. Thomas's body had disappeared. I was so glad it had. The weight it had added to Sammy's aura was nearly visible. The ancient's gifts had made that weight disappear, along with Kuje's help. For once, I felt determined and completely ready to bring Nazik back. The End was going to see me, non-violent and neutral, in a mission that had seen so much blood. I wanted to do this by myself. I didn't want Sammy and Kuje to get caught in the crosshairs of anything bad that could happen.

So I told them. I told them I was going alone. There was some resistance, but they understood.

"What if you don't come back? What if it doesn't work?" Sammy asked hesitantly. I had thought about it, if I died in The End. A soft chuckle escaped my lips.

"Then, I'll just take him home. I won't miss him anymore." I said. What I had said was dark, I could feel it, but they still didn't resist my objection to the coming along. They were scared, as I should've been.

"Are you leaving the moment we get back home?" She asked. I nodded. She let out a sad sigh. "Alright. Then, we've got a couple days."

The eternity of a couple days had finally passed. They had convinced me to at least let them help me to the End Portal. We knew the terrain so well, back and forth, to the jungle, we almost rushed home and then rushed back. The rest of the Eyes had been made and we were now standing at the foot of the portal. The pool of blood was non-existent. Nazik's body was gone. It was like it never happened. After we had barricaded the entrance to the portal room shut, we looked back to the portal itself.

"So this is it, huh?" Kuje said, his words echoing off the stone bricks. I stared up to the ceiling, staring into the orange lava light.

"Yup. The final step." I replied, going up the small staircase. Kuje and Sammy placed the Eyes into the gaping crevices and I took the last one and placed it at my feet. In the blink of an eye, the portal opened. No _whoosh_, or _woooo_, or even a simple flicker. It just appeared. I stared down into it and the fear suddenly grabbed me. I was staring into an abysmal starry night. The stars glittered in so many different colors and there millions – no, billions! – in the small portal opening. The was The End? It was so…beautiful. It was like staring into darkness with so many lights of so many different worlds. I was expecting pitch black, like I had imagined Endermen being born from.

"It's beautiful." Sammy muttered beside me, snapping my attention away from the starry drop.

"I was thinking the same thing. I didn't expect it to look like this. I'm not really sure if I ever thought about what it might look like." I said. She gently tapped my shoulder and I turned to her. In her hands rested Nazik's heart, his soul, his memories. Gently, I cradled the fragile orb in my hands. I started to check myself over, seeing if I was missing anything. I had my sword against my back. A collection of small water bottles were packed in my bag. A small amount of food was tucked away with the water. There was nothing much I thought was needed. I was hoping to be there for a short time and then we'd be back home. There wasn't much I truly expected from The End. The Enderdragon was dead and Endermen were calm unless provoked. I was going to be safe.

I turned to my two friends and gave them a kind smile. I could tell I looked worried, but so did they.

"Thank you guys so much for everything. Kuje, your future sight, with it, we would have never known of the dangers of traveling alone and the threat of Rataugh's brothers." I turned to Sammy. "Without you, we would've never had a place to stay or protection of another warrior. You truly are the best friend I could've ever had." I said it all with the sincerest of smiles and I truly meant everything I said. Sammy smiled back.

"You're talking like you're not coming back." She pointed out.

"Yeah. What do you know that I don't?" Kuje said.

"Well, do you have anything you need to tell me before I go?" I asked. He hadn't talked about many visions since he and Sammy had gotten together. He thought for a moment, and nodded once.

"Yes. Violence can be the answer to a question, but don't let it answer the question before it is even asked." He said. I knew exactly what he meant, but I was slightly surprised how much it sounded like a riddle. He was cryptic at times, but this one was clear. I was thinking this hadn't been a vision. It felt like he knew what was going to happen out of sheer gut feeling. I really did want to know who Kuje was. Was he a villager or a Crafter? His cryptic ways, his understanding of the ancients and his undoubting curiosity…something was starting to piece together in my head, but I didn't want to believe it. Was Kuje…an ancient? If he was, did he know?

They saw my inner confliction and spoke up.

"You okay, Natalie?" Kuje asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, of course. Listen…if, or when, I get back, I've got a question to ask you." I said, edging slightly closer to the portal.

"You can ask now." He insisted.

"No," I replied, closing my eyes, "I want the curiosity to bring me home." Then, I jumped back. I heard them gasp in shock, but I didn't know if they reached out to stop me. The sound of the bubbling lava beneath the portal, their scared gasps, the echoing from the stone bricks – all gone. I stood in the most silent of silences I had ever experienced. Opening my eyes, I stood in a small, open chunk of…rock? I touched it and couldn't determine if it was an Overworld substance. It crunched like burnt paper, but felt solid enough to stand on. It was a type of rock, but it was none that I had ever seen before. I stood on top of an obsidian slab, apparently that being my entrance from the portal. There was no sign of the portal, though. That frightened me. If I couldn't save Nazik, how was I supposed to get back out?

I climbed the ledge to the surface of the stone, dusting myself off of the Endstone dust, and as soon as I took one glimpse to the sky, I fell back, falling on my butt. I was staring at what I could only imagine was nothing. It wasn't quite black, bit almost a brown-ish color. I felt like it just went on forever with nothing beyond, within, or before. This 'world' was all that existed in this dimension.

I turned my eyes away and looked straight ahead over the hills and crevices of Endstone. Enderpeople walked the surface, looking either which way as if looking for something that wasn't there. Tightly, I held Nazik's heart against my chest and started walking.

I passed impossibly tall obsidian towers that looked as though they had once had something at the top of them. Any evidence of what the items had been, though, was long gone. I kept looking for something, but I had absolutely no clue what I was actually searching for. The books had never told me how to 'resurrect' an Enderman. The way Nazik had talked about it, it just seemed to happen. He never explained how their hearts came home, if someone physical brought them back, or if the hears did it on their own. Every way I looked, Enderpeople meandered, chirping and gurgling, seeming to talk to each other. If only I could've spoken to them. Maybe they would've known.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, I turned and accidently ran into the legs of one of them. I fell back, luckily still holding Nazik's heart safely. I looked up, out of habit, and immediately realized I had made a mistake. The Enderperson – a woman – glared down at me and hissed. She snatched me up and held me close to her face. Then, she saw the orb in my hands. She relaxed only slightly and reached for it. I defensively fought to keep it with me, but the more I resisted the tighter she squeezed me. Reluctantly, I dropped it into her giant hand. She looked it over, seemingly curious about it. In my head, I saw several different scenarios, and I was worried about the first couple. What if she wanted to smash it? After all of my journey what if she just crushed it into tiny pieces? Everything I would've worked so hard for would be wasted and would have no choice but to murder in cold blood. As we started moving, I thought better of it. She seemed to know.

Soft words slowly entered my head, the 'voice' being reluctant and almost cautious.

_You do not belong here, Crafter. Why do you hold one of my kind's hears so delicately and affectionately in your small and fragile hands?_ She asked, her words glittering in the back of my mind. Enderpeople didn't resist entering my head at any point now. Why had they before? Could they recognize the memories of the other Endermen in my head? I didn't like having my mental space invaded.

"I wish to save him He died for me and I want to repay him for it." I answered. She chirped a couple times, stopping at the edge of a drop off. I clutched her arm, afraid that she was going to throw me over the side.

_You are generous. I am glad I did not kill you, then._ She said. She raised her arm and stretched it over the abyss, preparing to let go of the pearl in her hand. I struggled.

"No! Don't!" I cried. She held me tighter, hissing a warning.

_Stop. Observe._ She simply said. She dropped Nazik's pearl and I watched. I wanted to struggle against her. I wanted to scream and cry as well, but I didn't. I remembered what Kuje had told me. She did not fight or truly intend to hurt me. She was simply restraining me. _Endermen are born from the void of the universe. It only makes sense that they are returned and reborn from it as well._ She said. The pearl was long gone from my sight but I still felt like I had done all of this for nothing. Only with her words did I feel slightly assured that everything was going to be okay.

She put me back on the ground and looked down to me. I realized then that there was a strange sense of beauty in her face. Her purple eyes glittered as she looked down at me.

_He will find you._ She said. Then, she turned and walked away. I took on glimpse back into the abyss, still doubting, and walked my own way.

I had walked for so long, walking aimlessly just as the Enderpeople did. I felt like I couldn't even think in the silence, feeling as if I would disrupt it if I tried. I just kept walking on and one. Then, I took a seat on one of the highest hills, watching as they appeared and disappeared in small clouds of purple particles. I watched drowsily, but still curiously, as some appeared without the particles puffing around them. I could only assume that they were being born or reborn. Unfortunately, when they were born, they looked exactly that same as any of the other newborns. They had no scars, no blemishes, to discern them from the others. They were completely new. I wanted so badly to start rushing down to every one of them just to find him, but I did as I was told. I waited. He would find me.

It seemed like hours I was waiting. I fought the sleep that was trying to overtake me as I searched the Enderpeople, endlessly searching for some defining mark of difference. Even as Endermen walked past me, chirping and talking, it didn't bother me anymore than the rain would. I couldn't tell anymore if I was sleeping or not. I felt as though I was floating in between mind and reality. I was warm and safe and I felt home. My eyes opened on a dream. Grey walls were bathed in warm, orange light. I lay floating at least six feet above the ground, as perfectly comfortable as I possibly could be. When I tried to move, however, gravity still worked. I was being pushed down on a soft, warm surface.

I inspected groggily. The surface was black, almost like coal, and felt leathery. It was bumpy and sectioned, almost like digits on someone's hands. A soft hiss caught my attention, but it wasn't an aggressive hiss. It was actually like someone was shh-ing me gently and quietly. Carefully and awkwardly, I rolled over and was met with a wall of black, leathery mass on my right side. Two big magenta orbs met me, shining and glowing intensely. It was an Enderman from what I could tell. Then, I started to truly wake up.

The warmth…was familiar. The scent of his skin was familiar. The way he breathed. I rubbed my eyes once and looked back into his eyes.

"Nazik?" I quietly called his name. A big, broad, yet gentle smile crossed his face. It was a smile that didn't fit his demeanor, one that didn't look quite right for an Enderman, but worked for me.

_You did it. Just like I said you could._ The words were warm in the darkness of my mind, but in that instance those words were so bright, vivid, and beautiful like the light of all worlds lighting up the night sky. I reacted the only way I felt appropriate; I jumped up in his hands, wrapping my arms around his neck tight, and cried in pure happiness. He held softly to me, gently nuzzling me.

"Nazik, you have no idea how much I missed you," I whimpered. He petted softly down my back, humming quietly.

_I missed you, too. It was like I could hear your voice calling for me, but I kept getting further and further away. Then, _The words stopped for a moment. I pulled back and looked at him. _I appeared in The End. I had been reborn. I did not show it, but inside, I rejoiced. I knew you had been the one to save me, to bring me home. I wanted to go to the Overworld to find you, but then I heard like whispers that you were waiting for me somewhere on the mesa. One of them told me they had encountered a lost Crafter repaying their life debut to another and was waiting to be found. I knew there could have only been one answer as to whom that Crafter may have been. _He said. I smiled and wiped the tears from my face.

"I'm just so happy I didn't let you down. It took so long, but I did it." I said warmly. He hugged me tightly.

_No matter how long you would have taken, no matter how long I would have waited to return, I would have known you were doing your best for me, and that is all that truly matters._ He said. We held each other for a long time in the quiet of the portal room. Then, he asked something I couldn't help but giggle at a little. _How long exactly did I wait?_

It turns out that he waited longer than I had thought. After a warm, heartfelt homecoming, Sammy and Kuje explained that I had been in The End for days. They had admitted to almost accepting that they had lost me and they hadn't said enough goodbyes. In a rough estimate of time, Nazik had waited almost four months to come home.

Nazik and I slept for days, happy to have each other back and too tired to truly do anything else. After we had fully rested, he said something that bothered me.

_You have changed._ I was sure I had. I had gone into severe depression, and then become numb to any other emotion. I had slaughtered countless beings, Endermen especially, to save him. Surely, I had to be different at this point.

"Is it good or bad, the change?" I asked him. He shrugged.

_I cannot be sure. You still seem sweet and loving, but there is a darkness I cannot place._ He replied. I sighed. I took the time to explain everything he had missed. My depression, my killing, the nightmares. Then, I explained the Sanctuary and what happened before we had even entered. He grumbled a bit.

_Your long lost friend…I am sorry to hear of his misfortune._ He said. I shook my head.

"Don't worry about it. It didn't hit me as bad as it hit Sammy. She was distraught for quite some time. Honestly, I think Thomas was her favored of the group." I said. He found that amusing.

_Even after all that you and she had been through, the adventure and other activities?_ He asked. I chuckled at his use of words. His subtly had gotten better.

"Yes, even through all that." I answered. We sat in the room, sitting against the overly huge bed. We sat quietly, not sure what more to say.

_What is there now?_ He asked. I simply shrugged.

"I don't know. As Sammy had said before, we make our own stories, and honestly, I think this is the last chapter of our main event." I said looking up to him. He looked around a bit, and then looked down. He seemed to think the same thing.

_Then…is it time for theirs to start?_ He asked. I nodded.

"I think so."  
><em>It begins today.<em> He said. I looked at him curiously.

"How do you - ?" Then there was a knock on the door. Kuje popped his head in and waved me over. I got up and walked out into the hall with him. "Hey, what's up?" I asked him.

"You said you had a question for me before you went into The End. What was it?" He asked. It took me a moment to recall what he meant, but then it hit me like a brick.

"Are you an ancient?" It came spewing out of my mouth as it came to mind. I didn't mean for it to sound direct. He jolted back, baffled for a moment at the bluntness of the statement. He rubbed under his chin and thought.

"Well…if I am, I never knew. I could be. Like…when you met me, I had no idea who I truly was. I could honestly be, for all I know." He shrugged. "Since I seem to understand the world a little easier than most, I think it's a possibility, or to be the descendant of one of them, but honestly, I think since I'm not a great survivalist, I might just be special." He said. I no longer had my doubts about who he thought he was, but I had my suspicions about who he truly was. Either way, he was my friend and that's all I really cared to know him as. If he was tied to the ancients in some way, I found it to be a burden that would most likely torment him. Being that his visions had calmed since this journey, his "power" could've just been based off the supposed prophecy the ancients and laid out for us.

"So…" I started hesitantly, "When are you and Sammy heading off?" I asked. The question didn't seem to shake him that much at all.

"Well, that was actually the reason I came down to come get you." In almost a matter of moments, we, including Nazik, stood on the beach, overlooking the sea. A boat big enough for a couple of people sat at the small deck to our left. As Sammy and Kuje hefted their things on their backs, I felt sadness well up against my eyelids.

"I'm going to miss you guys." I muttered. Sammy hugged me tightly, showing tears in her eyes as well.

"I'm going to miss you, too." She said. She let go and smiled, "But you were right. It's our turn to write our own story. It's our turn for a life changing, danger filled adventure." I nodded and wiped the tear that nearly escaped. The carefully made their way into the boat, teetering a little. We waved at them as they waved at us.

"Take care of her, Nazik!"

"You kids have fun! Take care of the house while I'm gone! No parties!"

They called back all sorts of things, but theirs weren't the only voices we heard as they drifted off into the horizon. At the far end of the beach, a little figure frantically waved goodbye. I smiled as I recognized the little villager, Jes, saying goodbye.

Soon, I couldn't hear them calling back to us. As their silhouettes crossed the horizon, I could almost hear a pen scratching the final words of Nazik's and my story, our chronicle of our misadventure. The book was long and sometimes jumbled, but even though the last page said 'The End,' we both knew that the end could always mean the beginning to something greater. Our story wasn't over just because someone said it was. It was our choice. It was our life and we had the chance to make it bigger, make it better, and make it more than we could've ever dreamed it to be. It was just whether or not we wanted to change ourselves in the process. That was one thing no one ever told me about life changing adventures. No one ever told me I would change along the way. Would I go back to the me I was before? No. The past is history, and the future is a mystery. No one knows who we will be by the end, but without change, who are we but grains of sand in the desert, never to be discerned from any other grain. We must be stars, glittering in our own unique color, and we will glimmer in the seemingly abysmal darkness that is the universe. That is simply who we must be. That is our destiny.


End file.
